Legislation which would require newspapers to use a certain amount of recycled newsprint was approved last week with changes.

Gov. James Thompson signed the bill, sponsored by Patrick Welch, D-LaSalle/Peru and made the bill even stronger than the proposed bill.

The changes include increasing the amount of recycled newsprint that the newspapers would have to use to 35 percent in 19905 and 45 percent in 19907.

“While newspapers are currently being recycled, unfortunately, there is such a backlog of collected newspapers that few recycling centers are accepting it,” Welch said.

Welch said the legislation would reduce the number of newspapers currently going into our landfills and it would create a new demand for recycled newsprint in Illinois.

Nationally, newspapers currently account for 11 percent of the total urban waste stream.

Welch said the bill would require newsprint used by Illinois newspapers to contain an average recycled fiber content of 22 percent by January 1, 1991; 25 percent by January 1, 1992; and 28 percent by January 1, 1993.

“The intent of this legislation is to prolong the life of our landfills by providing an additional use for used newspapers,” Welch said.