Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable FSC Paper

Last Updated on 26/10/2026

Paper gets a bad reputation. Trees are cut down to make it, so it must be bad – except the numbers say otherwise. European forests grew by 44,160 km² between 2005 and 2015, an area bigger than Switzerland and the equivalent of more than 1,500 football pitches of new growth every day (Two Sides). Well-managed forests, harvested and replanted, keep that cycle running.

That is the practical case for sustainable paper. Buy the right stock and your office printing supports managed forests and UK paper recycling instead of landfill. Buy the wrong stock and you pay more for a weaker environmental story.

This guide covers FSC, recycled and PEFC paper side by side, then matches each type to the jobs your office actually prints.

In brief

• Two routes to eco-friendly paper: 100% recycled stock, or virgin fibre from certified forests (FSC or PEFC).
• FSC and PEFC certify sourcing. “Recycled” describes fibre content. A paper can be both, or neither.
• Every type is recyclable in normal office paper recycling – including FSC Mix paper.
• Rule of thumb: one mature tree yields around 16 reams of A4 80 gsm paper. Recycling keeps that fibre in circulation.
• Match the paper to the job: standard recycled for everyday printing, certified virgin or archival grade for records, premium bright white for client documents.

Two routes to eco-friendly paper

Eco-friendly paper comes in two forms.

• Recycled paper – made from recovered fibre collected through paper recycling schemes.
• Environmentally certified paper – FSC paper or PEFC paper, made from virgin fibre traced back to a responsibly managed forest.

Both cut the impact of a ream on the shelf. They do it in different ways, so the right answer depends on what you print.

FSC vs recycled vs PEFC: how they compare

	FSC paper	Recycled paper	PEFC paper
Certification	Forest Stewardship Council. Three labels: FSC 100%, FSC Mix, FSC Recycled (FSC)	No single scheme – look for the recycled-content percentage on pack, plus any eco-label	Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, the other major global scheme (PEFC)
Virgin fibre share	100% (FSC 100%), part-certified (FSC Mix), or none (FSC Recycled)	Low to zero virgin fibre; 100% recycled stock is all recovered fibre	Usually virgin fibre from certified forests; PEFC Recycled covers recovered fibre
Recyclability	Recyclable. Fibre can be reused, though it shortens each cycle	Recyclable again – recycled paper is not end-of-life paper	Recyclable, on the same basis

How to recycle paper

Paper recycling is one of the most effective ways to cut the impact of office printing. Most homes and workplaces have a recycling bin. What happens next is straightforward.

• Paper is collected from recycling bins and combined in large containers.
• Waste paper is transported to recycling plants, where it is sorted by type.
• The paper is washed to remove ink, staples, glue and other contaminants, then mixed with water to create a slurry.
• Different additives are used depending on the finished product – cardboard and newsprint need different formulations.
• The treated slurry is formed into thin sheets and left to dry.
• Once dry, the recycled paper is cut and distributed for use again.

The process is simple. It depends on people putting paper in the right bin and keeping contamination out. Paper recycling only works at scale if your bins are labelled and emptied.

What is made out of recycled paper?

Recycled fibre goes back into a long list of everyday products:

• Printer paper
• Toilet paper
• Tissues
• Paper towels
• Newspapers
• Greetings cards
• Cardboard packaging

Those are the common uses. Many other office consumables start life as your waste paper.

Can shredded paper be recycled?

Yes – but only in the right circumstances.

Shredded paper is hard to recycle. The process cuts fibres into short lengths, and loose strands jam sorting machinery. Most kerbside collections will not take it.

If you want to recycle shredded paper, check with your local recycling centre first. Otherwise, compost it or use it as small-animal bedding. For confidential waste, use a paper shredder and a licensed shredding service that handles recycling downstream.

Can receipt paper be recycled?

Usually not.

Most receipts are thermal paper, coated in chemicals that contaminate other recyclables. Keep receipts out of the paper recycling bin. Where you can, choose digital receipts – one less contaminant in the stream and one less roll to buy.

How does recycling paper help the environment?

There are three clear reasons recycled paper beats virgin stock on environmental impact.

Manufacturing

Virgin paper is made directly from trees. Felling, transport and pulping use far more energy than reprocessing used paper, and release more carbon dioxide. Virgin production also needs roughly 50% more water than recycled production.

Saving trees

Every recycled sheet reduces demand for new fibre. That protects the ecosystems and biodiversity that depend on forests – and takes pressure off the forests that supply virgin pulp.

Landfill

Anything that cannot be recycled ends up in landfill, and space is finite. Recycling one tonne of paper is estimated to save 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.

FSC vs recycled paper: which is better?

Neither. FSC certified paper and recycled paper are both responsible choices. The question is fit.

• Choose recycled paper when the priority is keeping fibre in circulation and cutting the virgin fibre in your supply chain.
• Choose FSC paper when you need brightness, runnability or archival performance that recycled stock may not deliver, backed by a certified supply chain.

And remember the fibre cycle: recycled fibre shortens with every pass, so a healthy paper system always needs some new fibre coming in from certified forests. That is why the two options sit side by side rather than one replacing the other.

FSC paper: what the labels mean

The Forest Stewardship Council is an environmental organisation that sets the standards for responsible forest management and audits the chain of custody from forest to shelf. The FSC stamp on packaging means one of three things:

• FSC 100% – all fibre comes from FSC-certified forests.
• FSC Recycled – all fibre is recycled or reclaimed material.
• FSC Mix – a mix of FSC-certified fibre, recycled material and/or FSC-controlled wood.

Read the specific label, not just the tree logo. “FSC certified paper” can mean 100% virgin fibre or 100% reclaimed fibre.

Can FSC Mix paper be recycled?

Yes. FSC Mix paper is fully recyclable in normal office paper recycling.

FSC Recycled stock has already been recycled once or more, and that makes no difference to its next trip through the system. Paper is commonly said to have a life cycle of around seven passes before the fibres get too short – but that is the mill’s problem, not the buyer’s.

Which sustainable paper for which office use?

Match stock to job and you get the environmental story plus the print quality you need.

Everyday printing – high volume, lowest cost Standard A4 80 gsm recycled copier paper for internal documents, drafts, picking lists and meeting notes. Compare like-for-like on price per ream and CIE whiteness before you switch a whole department.

• Nautilus Classic A4 100% recycled 80 gsm – 500 sheets, FSC certified and recycled (buy Nautilus Classic A4).
• Bulk buyers: the Nautilus quickbox of 2,500 sheets cuts packaging and reorder admin.

Archiving and records – durability first Long-life documents need whiter, heavier stock that holds toner and resists handling. Choose certified virgin fibre, or a high-brightness recycled grade if the retention period is short.

• Nautilus SuperWhite A4 80 gsm, 150 CIE – bright, smooth recycled stock for scanned and stored records (Nautilus SuperWhite).
• A3 for plans and drawings: Nautilus Classic A3 100% recycled.

Client documents – presentation grade Proposals, quotes and tender packs are judged on feel. Use a premium bright white with high opacity so double-sided printing does not show through – then say so on the back page. “Printed on FSC certified paper” is a detail clients notice.

Browse the full range of sustainable paper and printer paper to compare brands, weights and pack sizes in one place.

How many reams of paper in a tree?

Roughly 16 reams of A4 80 gsm paper come from one mature tree – about 8,000 sheets.

The maths is simple. A standard ream weighs around 2.5 kg. Industry estimates for a mature pulp tree land at roughly 8,000 sheets per tree, or 16 reams (commonly cited estimate). That puts one ream at about one-sixteenth of a tree.

Three things move the number:

• Tree size and species – a large mature pine yields far more fibre than a young thinned stem.
• Paper weight – the same tree makes fewer reams of 90 gsm than of 70 gsm.
• The fibre mix – recycled content displaces virgin fibre ream for ream.

Use it as a planning ratio, not a quote: one tonne of A4 80 gsm paper equals around 400 reams. That is the figure to use when you model paper spend against recycling targets.

Buy sustainable paper from Viking

Everything you need to switch the office to certified or recycled stock, with the service that makes it practical.

• Free next working day delivery on orders – no waiting for a bulk pallet to justify itself.
• Free returns if a grade is not right for your printers.
• Nectar points and Viking One rewards on the sustainable office supplies you buy every month.
• One supplier for paper, envelopes and labels – fewer POs, fewer deliveries.

Useful sources

• FSC labels explained – Forest Stewardship Council
• FSC and paper packaging – Forest Stewardship Council
• Sustainable forestry facts – Two Sides UK
• Print and paper myths and facts – Two Sides UK
• How many sheets of paper can be produced from a single tree? – HowStuffWorks