Intro

Today we’re talking about paper.

Problems

• The biggest problem has got to be deforestation
  • 42% of the global wood harvest is used to make paper
• Paper is very energy intensive to produce, more so than plastic
• A lot of water is used in the process which ultimately doesn’t end up in the product.
  • 10L of water for an A4 sheet
• Paper can’t be recycled infinitely
  • Each time it’s recycled the fibres get shorter, meaning at some point it can no longer form a sheet of paper
  • Photocopier paper will usually be recycled into things like brown paper, cardboard, egg boxes or toilet paper.
  • Printer paper can be recycled into printer paper about five to seven times, after which it is no longer good enough to make printer paper. After then, however, it can still be used to make lower-quality products such as tissues, newspaper, egg-boxes, brown paper, cardboard etc.
  • You can get a sense for this if you’ve ever tried recycling paper yourself. I remember once in art we tried to recycle paper… it was very fragile and not terribly useful.
• Ironically, one problem might be that people think it’s a bigger problem than it is.
  • People focus more effort than might be due on paper, and focus less on much more important changes
  • Replacing paper with complex electronics may not be the best idea
• Toilet paper

Solutions

• The biggest solution to paper waste is recycling, and luckily this is economically viable (unlike plastic). Paper recycling uses 70% less energy than virgin paper, and produces less air pollution as well.
• Trying to buy recycled paper where it matters
  • For example, see if you can get your school or workplace to source only recycled paper - that would have a far greater impact than just yourself
  • You could also try using lower-quality papers, which use less wood (as they can use more of it)
    • e.g. it takes twice as many trees to make a tonne of printing paper compared to newspaper paper
• Check for the FSC logo - it’s pretty much ubiquitous these days, but it’s worth checking.
• The broader solution to deforestation is sustainably managed forests. Ultimately we won’t be able to recycle all paper forever, but that’s OK because paper can be disposed of without causing too much damage to the environment, and we can renewably produce more raw materials for paper.
  • In fact, if paper isn’t burnt, and just continues to exist, it acts as a small store of carbon
    • CO2 in air → absorbed into trees’ biomass → tree pulped into paper → carbon stored in paper
• When recycling yourself:
  • Don’t recycle paper with food stains / other non-recyclable elements (such as takeaway boxes)
    • Check with your council for specific instructions
  • Beware that tissue paper, laminated paper, waxed paper and plastic-coated paper all can’t be recycled, so save your council the trouble and put them in general waste instead.
    • Hence avoid laminating
  • Print on both sides! / Use other side for scrap paper & drawings
  • Don’t shred the paper or cut it up too small as this makes it much harder to recycle
    • Obviously if it’s ultra sensitive then do shred, but check council if that can be recycled
    • Some councils will allow shredded paper in garden waste instead
• Other personal actions
  • Fold your toilet paper - this is never recycled!
  • Prefer paper to plastic, but prefer reusable to paper…

Links

Paper recycling FAQs | What paper can & can't be recycled

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCnRCfFQBFo

Paper Waste Facts