Recycling Articles : Recycling Paper

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The world runs on paper and where would we be without it? From the reams of paper used every year to create paper money, cheques, receipts and tax forms to the books and publications that form the cornerstone of our academia and culture, paper still plays a vital role in the way the world is run. Despite the current pressure to diminish the role of paper in offices and businesses around the UK, most of us are still a long way away from working in “paperless offices”.

Obviously, the cost of our reliance on paper to the environment is easy to imagine. Nowadays most paper is manufactured from “virgin wood pulp”, harvested from vast plantation forests of the same species of tree which are government regulated and sustainably managed. However, the consistent demand for paper is pushing these plantations to expand, often at the exspense of existing, natural forests and the animals that make their habitats within them.

When a paper pulp plantation is created it is usually populated exclusively with the Spruce tree which is strong and grows quickly. The system then works in the way that most farms do, using something called “crop rotation”. A section of spruce is left to grow for only a few years and then chopped down whilst the other sections are still growing.

This constant cycle of growing and cutting means that the forest does not supply a stable habitat for either wildlife or wild vegetation and so threatens the balance of the eco-system. On top of all that, it affects the oxygen to CO2 replenishment that has become such a controversial issue with regards to trees.

So, what can we do about it? In 2004 around 74% of all paper manufcatured in the UK was sourced from recycled paper and cardboard, which is a fairly good figure. Paper or board products that have been manufactured from recycled sources usually bear a mark on them somewhere and it may be a good idea for the conscientious eco-warrior to begin to look out for that when doing the shopping.

Sometimes thinking about the packaging of the products we are purchasing can be interesting. Consider how much paper is used in packaging and whether or not that packaging is necessary. It is often possible to choose products with less packaging, hopefully sending a message to the manufacturers.

Junk mail is often targeted as a key producer of waste paper and there are organizations that can delete your name from the mailing list of these mass-marketers, thus making one less home to waste paper on.

According to surveys and censuses, newspapers are the largest source of paper in most UK households. It is not possible to subscribe to most major national publications online although, thankfully, most newspapers are made from recycled paper.

Fortunately paper isn’t the most menacing of packaging materials and is far more recyclable, reusable and energy-efficient than others such as plastics. However, it can never hurt to aim to reduce wastage in packaging and to recycle as much as possible.

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