The impact of people’s paper usage on the planet is significant and scary. For example, to produce each week’s Sunday newspaper, 500,000 trees must be destroyed. Recycling a single run of the Sunday New York Times would save 75,000 trees. If we would recycle just one-tenth of their newspapers we would preserve about 25,000,000 trees annually. Paper waste accounts for 40% of all municipal waste by weight and 50% by volume.
Recycling helps conserve the eco-system, supports our economy and can save you money. One of the best ways to truly make recycling effective is to use recycled paper products. It’s up to us to close the recycling loop by purchasing recycled content products. Use this article on recycled paper to understand the long lasting effects of recycling and purchasing recycled paper.
What is recycled paper?
Recycled paper is paper made from recovered waste paper and re-made into new paper items .
What are the rewards of purchasing recycled paper?
- Purchasing Recycled Paper Saves Our Natural Resources
- Using Recycled Paper Saves Energy
- Using Recycled Paper Saves Our Environment
- Using Recycled Paper Reduces Pollution
- Using Recycled Paper Cuts Waste
Recycling conserves trees and water. Making a ton of paper from recycled feedstock saves up to 17 trees and uses 50% less water (that’s 7000 gallons) than virgin paper manufacturing.
Recycling paper uses about 65% less energy than the process of cutting down new trees and manufacturing them into paper pulp. Significant amounts of energy and fossil fuels are mandatory to complete the virgin paper manufacturing process.
Recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps slow global climate change. Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is created by gasses escaping from entombed paper in landfills.
The paper industry is one of the preeminent water and air polluters in the world. The EPA has established that recycling achieves 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution. Also, recycling mills tend to use more earth-friendly bleaching processes than traditional mills that will often use chlorine compounds to whiten paper. Chlorine bleaching compounds can create dioxins and furans which are extremely toxic and harmful to humans and wildlife.
Landfill sites are filling up with waste paper that could be used to make recycled paper. By converting waste into new products, we slow the pace in which our landfills will fill and reach capacity.
The benefits of using recycled paper are great contributors in our quest for a better environment and a healthier universe both for ourselves and the next generations. Recycling and using recycled paper in our homes, companies and schools will create a positive impact on our natural resources, available energy source and our economy. Start today.
Really great, practicly explained and useful tips.