Facts About Recycling Paper
1. Relating the amount of paper recycled to the number of trees saved is meaningless as tree size varies greatly.
2. Production of paper grocery sacks generate 70% more air pollution and 50% more water pollution than plastic bags.
3. 21% of paper grocery sacks are recycled.
4. It takes approximately 91% more energy to recycle 1kg of paper than 1kg of plastic.
5. The pulp and paper industry is the world's fifth largest consumer of energy.
6. For one ton of product, the pulp and paper industry uses more water than any other industry.
7. Black and White toner contains at least six different substances which are considered hazardous and toxic to the water supply.
8. 30-35% of trees logged in the US are used to produce paper.
9. Office print is the second largest source of pollution in the United States, second to vehicle exhaust.
10. Recycling 1 ton of newspaper saves 1 ton of wood. Recycling 1 one of copy paper saves slightly more than 2 tons of wood. This is because twice as much wood is used to produce higher quality paper like copy paper.
11. 90% of paper pulp is made from wood.
12. Most cardboard boxes have over 25% recycled fibers and some are 100% recycled fiber.
13. The average American uses the equivalent of one 100ft tall Douglas fir tree in paper and wood products every year.
14. Enough wood and paper is thrown away in one year to heat 50,000,000 homes for 20 years.
15. Old growth forests account for 9% of world pulp production. 16% of pulp comes from trees raised in "farmed forests" specifically for pulp.
16. One tree can filter up to 25kg of air pollutants per year.
17. "Farmed forests" have widespread soil erosion and require large amounts of fertilizer. They also have little plant and wild-life biodiversity compared to virgin forests.
18. Wood fiber can usually only be recycled up to 5 times after which the fibers become too short and weak to be useful for paper production.
19. Many "soft" brands of toilet paper use more long fiber from virgin tree pulp while recycled toilet paper is often "harder" and unbleached.
20. In 2007 in the United States more than 56% (a record high) of the paper consumed was recovered for recycling.
21. New newspapers, boxes, office paper, paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, insulation, cereal boxes, kitty litter, and molded packaging are some of the products made from recycled paper.
Myth: The paper industry contributes to the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
Fact: Deforestation in the Amazon results mostly from cattle ranches (60-70%), and the rest mostly results from small-scale subsistence farming.
Sources
The information on this page has been compiled from various sources including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Worldwatch Institute, the American Forest and Paper Association, and the National Recycling Coalition.
