Just how effective is paper recycling?

It’s a common misconception that the production of paper is bad for the climate because trees are being cut down. In truth, the vast majority of paper is produced using managed sources, i.e. farmed trees, and the paper industry is actively promoting the regeneration of forests by planting more trees for paper than it fells! The process of planting a tree and, when fully grown, converting it into paper is therefore carbon negative overall.

However, that does not mean that we shouldn’t be utilising that resource to the maximum and prolonging the life of paper once it has left the forest. Seeings as the paper industry is taking a pro‐active approach to the environment, so should we...

For starters, every ton of paper that gets recycled can save 17 trees! Considering that an ‘average’ fully grown tree weighs around one ton, that’s a pretty impressive turnaround!

Every ton will also save 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy, and 7,000 gallons of water, amounting to around 60 pounds less of air pollution.

There is, of course, a limit to how many times copier paper can be recycled. Every time paper is recycled, the fibres within it get shorter, making it harder to be recycled the next time. Once it has been recycled around 5-7 times, the fibres are too short to adhere to each other. However, even after paper is no longer recyclable, it is still suitable for ‘repurposing’, being turned into lower grade items such as toilet rolls, egg cartons, tissues or paper towels.

Recycling a single sheet of paper may seem a pointless exercise, but over time, the rewards are huge. Recycling a single sheet only creates 5% of the pollution of that used in creating a new one! It also saves around half the amount of energy required.

Shockingly, 40% of landfill waste is paper… and it needn’t be! Almost half of landfill space doesn’t actually need to be there. Sadly, high grade paper is the most wasted. Many people assume that glossy paper, such as that used for magazines, can’t be recycled. Well, it can! So can brown paper and parchment!

How your workplace can help:

Double side it!

To pretty much cut your paper consumption in half instantly, set your office printers to default double-sided printing.

Bring a mug!

Consider removing all paper cups from the drinks machine. Ask staff to bring their own mug from home.

Always proof-read and preview

Printing documents twice because of a mistake is a pointless waste of paper! Make sure your work is properly read before printing. Running a spell checker can help. You should also preview your work on screen to make sure it looks exactly how you want it before hitting the ‘print’ button.

Don’t mix shredded paper with unshredded paper!

Whilst the shredding of paper is practical to protect sensitive information, mixing it with other recycled paper renders it unrecyclable! This is because the tiny pieces can fall though the filter screens at recycling plants. Present shredded paper for recycling in a separate bag.

Share the love

Share the results of your recycling efforts with employees and customers. Some recycling companies provide Environmental Certificates that show how many trees have been saved.

Try hybrid mail

Did you know you can post proper letters, invoices and documents without having to print them yourself? ‘Hybrid mail’ is a growing solution for businesses and individuals alike. Outsourcing your mail to a trusted hybrid mail supplier such as www.mailgreen.co.uk can save you a fortune on consumables such as paper, stamps and ink cartridges.

Now we know what a big difference a little effort can make, just imagine just how much good we can all do… one piece of paper at a time!