The Missouri Department of Natural Resources said 85 Missouri newspapers met the state goal of recycling 52 percent of its newsprint content during 2004.

Of the 199,759 tons of newsprint these newspapers used in 2004, an average of 58 percent was recycled, up from 52 percent in 2003, the department said.

Missouri law requires publications with an average daily distribution of 15,000 or more to report how much recycled content they use every year.

In 1993, the department set the goal for recycled content usage at 10 percent, and for the last five years, that goal has been set at 50 percent.

"The increase in recycled newsprint usage shows that Missouri newspaper and newsprint industries continue to make recycling a priority and view it as a benefit to the economy and environment," Doyle Childers, director of the Department of Natural Resources, said in a statement. Childers said about 17 trees are saved for every ton of paper made from recycled material.

In 2003, more than 73 percent of all old newspapers were recycled in the United States.