I know its not a very serious issue, but I thought I’d mention that the final Harry Potter book – Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – will be printed on recycled paper. Queensland’s Courier Mail said back in march that
“THE 12 million US editions of the seventh and last Harry Potter book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows are to be printed on partially recycled paper. The books, set for release on July 21, “will be printed on paper that contains a minimum of 30 per cent post-consumer waste fibre,” publisher Scholastic said.” (The Courier Mail: Harry’s Seventh Goes Green, 22 March 2007)
Buffalo News in New York also picked up on the printing, as did The Sydney Morning Herald here in Sydney (but not until yesterday, whereas everywhere else reported it over two months ago). Times Union furthermore reported that
“A “deluxe” edition of the new book, which has a first printing of 100,000, will be printed on paper that contains “100 percent post- consumer waste fiber.”
In 2005, when “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” came out, Greenpeace and other environmental groups complained that Scholastic wasn’t using enough recycled paper and urged consumers to buy copies from the Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books. ” (Times Union: Potter Goes Green in ‘Hallows’, 21 March 2007)
I see a few interesting angles in these stories. There’s the conflict angle, where you have Greenpeace up against publisher Scholastic. There’s the angle of currency, where you could focus on the move for more publishers to adopt “green printing” and use recycled paper. Which reminds me about somethig I forgot to put in yesterday’s entry – Live Earth tickets will also be printed on recycled paper. For the Harry Potter books, there’s even been a bit of comparison drawn between printing in the US, and how their recycled paper is being outsourced to Australia for the books. The Sydney Morning Herald took this anti-America slant, saying
“Conservationists are concerned about why the recycled paper is coming from a mill in the US rather than from Australian suppliers. Allen & Unwin paid $3million for their recycled paper from the Dirigo Paper Company in Vermont.
David Shirer, spokesman for Australian Paper, the only maker of recycled paper in Australia, said it was a shame the publishers weren’t using Australian recycled paper.” (The Sydney Morning Herald: Harry, a global eco-warrior for the times, 20 May 2007)
So again, its the news value of conflict – Australia vs America. It interested me how people’s opinions of recycled paper have changed so much in the last 10 years or so ago. I remember when people were disgusted at the concept of re-using paper. I still laugh whenever I read packages of toilet paper that say, “100% recycled paper”!
The last Harry Potter book is due to be released on 21 July.
