Green Business

If you are an employee that handles receipts (like a waiter, cashier or librarian) or you run a business that gives out receipts, you are likely using thermal paper and it almost assuredly is coated with either BPA or its chemical cousin, Bisphenol S (BPS). All of the 18 thermal papers we tested were coated with either BPA or BPS. We now know that thermal receipt paper, used widely every day, is another way that Bisphenol A (BPA) gets into us. Studies have shown cashiers have higher levels of BPA in their body fluids than other occupations. Regular receipt handling may be of particular concern to pregnant women or women of childbearing age and adolescents of both sexes who handle receipts regularly. BPA is known to be hazardous to human, fish and other animal reproductive systems and has been linked with obesity and attention disorders. The other commonly used chemical for thermal receipts, BPS, has been shown to have some similar effects.

Madalyn Cioci from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency summarizes the results of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's BPA in Thermal Paper project and offers suggestions for reducing BPA exposure from the handling of thermal paper. The webinar also included a case study from Linden Hills Co-op, which changed their procedures as a result of the project.

List of the leading ecopapers available in the U.S. and Canada.

Shows the environmental impacts of different papers across their full life cycle. Useful for quantifying the benefits of better paper choices.

This how-to guide not only compiles the basic steps of setting up a successful paper recycling program but also covers other topics that today’s office and building managers encounter, while explaining how organizations fit into the overall system of recycled paper manufacturing.

The purpose of this Guide is to assist sustainability officers and business procurement managers to develop and implement their wood and paper-based procurement policies. This Guide identifies and reviews issues central to procurement of wood and paper-based products, and highlights resources that can be of help.