photo credit: INeedCoffee
Unfortunately, there are too many people that still don’t believe global warming is a serious and pressing issue, and that no matter what we do, nothing will change. So for all of us out there that are trying to change their minds, here are some facts about paper waste and recycling in the US alone. Just a little something to think about….
- Every year 3.8 million acres of American forests are cut down and half of this is made into paper.
- Deforestation devastates ecosystems and increases soil erosion and stream sedimentation. Additionally, forests are frequently replaced by single-species “tree farms” that have little value as habitat for wildlife.
- Increasingly more wood and virgin paper products are being imported from China and South America.
- Paper-making process produces over 1,000 various organochlorins, including mercury and carcinogen dioxin. Moreover, it requires large amounts of energy—it is estimated that paper processing contributes about 9% of total carbon emissions in the US.
- About 35% of municipal solid waste comes from paper.
- Choosing the right paper for your personal and professional use can save millions of trees and conserve energy.
- A ton of recycled paper saves about 3,000 to 4,000 kilowatts of electricity!
- In 2005, 50% of paper and paperboard have been recovered, which makes it a 7% increase of recycling paper since 2000.
- Recycling in the same year saved energy equivalent to the annual energy usage by 9 million households.
Things you can do:
• Look for chlorine-free (PCF) processed paper with a high content of post-consumer waste.
If available, go for tree-free paper (100% recycled from consumer waste)
• Try to convince your co-workers to use recycled paper in the office. If that is not quite an option, save as much paper as possible and recycle the used one.
• Read documents on the computer instead of printing and if you print, do it on both sides of the paper sheet.
• Recycle boxes, cardboard, packaging, junk mail etc and sign off catalogue mailing lists.
• For cleaning, use cloth towels (they can be washed) instead of paper towels.
