BPA-free receipt switch could save money

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Since receiving considerable attention following the Environmental Working Group’s report, Appleton Papers has begun embedding red fibers in its BPA-free receipt paper to make it easily recognizable by consumers.

Recent outcry over the use of endocrine-disrupting Bisphenol A — more commonly known as BPA — in a majority of receipt paper has merchants moving to alternatives. And in the case of the Multnomah County Library, the switch to BPA-free receipt paper also means saving money.

Jeremy Graybill, marketing and communications director for the library, estimates it will save between $1,400 and $3,200 through its switch to BPA-free paper this fiscal year.

Graybill said it is tough to pinpoint the exact savings that will result from the change, since the library has yet to move through a whole year of inventory. But the library uses about 8,300 rolls of receipt paper annually, mostly as hold slips to direct patrons to books they've ordered. In its previous fiscal year, the library spent $10,000 on receipt paper. At the low end, the projected savings from the switch looks to be at least 14 percent.

Though costs were a motivating factor for library officials, Graybill said the switch was primarily made for health reasons.

"It certainly aligns with the library's priorities to go that route," he said.

The health effects of receipt papers are an increasing concern. Evidence suggests BPA disrupts the hormone system, and causes cell and chromosomal damage linked to certain cancers, diabetes, miscarriage and birth defects. It has been shown to leach into food and water from containers and has garnered much attention for its use in water bottles, canned food and baby toys. The Oregon Environmental Council has sought to ban BPA in children’s food and beverage containers in the state, and plans to try again in 2011 session of the Oregon Legislature. The council also participated in a nationwide study on BPA in canned foods earlier this year.

But in lab tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group in July, BPA was found in more than 40 percent of receipts sampled from major U.S. businesses, and in concentrations between 250 and 1,000 times greater than in these other, more widely discussed sources of exposure. BPA is used in thermal receipt paper to make ink stand out.

Target and Starbucks were among merchants whose receipts were tested by the Environmental Working Group and found to be using BPA-free receipt paper. Other merchants have since moved to BPA-free receipts.

Saving money in the switch, however, depends on the volume ordered and the vendor. Appleton Papers in Appleton, Wisconsin is believed to be the only manufacturer of BPA-free receipt paper in the United States, though competitors are emerging. The company controls about 50 percent of the market for receipt paper sold by a variety of different converters and distributors.

In switching its library to the BPA-free product last summer, Eugene Library Director Connie Bennett said the switch increased spending by 5 percent, even after the library looked for efficiencies.

"It's a market that keeps changing and the price will vary depending on how much they use. We're a very small library and it may be that Multnomah County just has the volume to make it cheaper for them," she said.

Lee van der Voo, lvdvoo*at*gmail.com, is a freelance writer for Sustainable Business Oregon.