Good night’s sleep for orangutans

News Release

13 March 2008

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Orang utans Madju and Melur are enjoying a great night’s sleep on fresh shredded paper this week thanks to a commitment to paper recycling by OfficeMax.

The office supplies company has begun donating its shredded paper to Auckland Zoo, where the primates are housed.

As part of its commitment to environmental sustainability, OfficeMax has been analysing its waste management and has embarked on some creative recycling strategies for its shredded paper.

Madju and Horst are part of a group of nine Bornean orang utans that range in age from two to 30 years, who got to try out their OfficeMax super-soft paper beds last week.

“Our orang utans make ‘nests’ every night with the paper. This replicates what they would do in the wild with plant matter, and is an important natural behaviour we like to encourage,” says Auckland Zoo’s primate team leader, Amy Dixon.

“We were aware of how much shredded paper we were generating and we decided to look in to what we could do with it,” said OfficeMax Managing Director Kevin Obern.

“Initially we thought we would give the shredded paper to a local pet shop, but we found that once the paper had been used it was thrown out - we wanted to find an even more sustainable, long term use for the paper. After the orang utans have used the paper, the zoo sends it to a specialist waste management company where it is treated to enable it to be included in a fertiliser, so the paper is completely recycled,” said Kevin.

“And what’s more, we have reduced our total amount of shredded waste by approximately half, so everyone wins.”

OfficeMax is one of a number of organisations which donate their shredded paper to Auckland Zoo.

OfficeMax also has its own worm farm on-site as part of its commitment to reduce digestible waste going to landfill and improve the environment. OfficeMax prides itself on its commitment to stocking paper products from environmentally sustainable sources. In addition, the majority of paper and paper products stocked by OfficeMax is either recycled or carries the Forrest Sustainability Council (FSC) logo.

OfficeMax New Zealand is actively working toward developing good environmental practices within their organisation to enable consumers to make environmentally friendly purchasing decisions, already selling more than 700 products with sustainable attributes.

The organisation plans to erect pictures of the orang utans near their shredders to remind employees to take the time to shred their old documents for the zoo instead of just throwing them away.

Ends

About OfficeMax:
OfficeMax is one of the top three office products companies in the world, employing 41,000 people worldwide including 900 in New Zealand.

A key global player, OfficeMax New Zealand prides itself on its local focus.

OfficeMax has become a household name in New Zealand through its close association with brands such as Boise Office Solutions, Blue Star Office Products and Whitcoulls.

OfficeMax believes in integrity, total quality and safety. It prides itself on the depth of industry knowledge possessed by its workforce and confidently boasts the most skilled personnel in the office products industry.

OfficeMax New Zealand is working toward developing transparent environmental practices to enable consumers to make purchasing decisions that put environment and community first. The company values its ongoing partnership with the Ministry for the Environment as it seeks improvement in the office products arena.

About the Forest Sustainability Council:

The Forest Sustainability Council (FSC) provides a globally recognised chain of custody certification system for tracing, verifying and labelling timber, wood and paper products that come from FSC certified forests. It was established in 1993 and has a mission to promote environmentally appropriate and socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests.

ENDS

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