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Since the advent of writing, people use papers to record and disseminate information. Today, trees are their key producers. And did you know that a single tree makes about 8000 sheets of paper? If you think that’s a lot, then don’t because billions of trees around the world are being cut every year just to meet paper production demands.
Trees are essential in the balance of the ecosystem. They provide oxygen, and at the same time, absorb carbon dioxide. The world continues to emit a massive amount of carbon dioxide that you cannot even imagine. On the contrary, we continue to exploit nature by overcutting trees to make wood products and papers.
It causes climate change where the temperature increases a degree Celsius each year because of the lack of carbon dioxide absorbers. Thus, it is crucial to do everything in our power to reduce logging of trees even in our little ways.
One course of action is to minimise the use of paper materials. Everything goes digital these days. News is available on websites, business and individuals send enquiries through emails, and forms are answerable via online. Be efficient and patronise online resources to lessen paper consumption.
Moreover, recycling paper waste is as critical as reducing them. Here are ten interesting facts that might help you realise how beneficial paper recycling is:
Fact #1: Paper recycling is the best choice to make.
Not just stating the obvious, but paper recycling is the wisest option. It doesn’t just save trees but landfills’ spaces as well. Moreover, it extends the paper’s lifespan as long as you follow its proper disposal.
A lot of people don’t know that crumpled or folded papers are less efficient to recycle than the ones that are creaseless. Thus, the next time you throw them away, leave their form just the way it is.
Fact #2: A tonne of recycled papers saves about 17 trees from cut down.
On average, Australia consumes about four million tonnes of papers each year. Imagine if people invest more interest in the environment, and practise recycling? Just a million tonne of recycled papers each year can save 17 million trees. And that amount is sufficient to lessen the impact of carbon dioxide emissions.
Fact #3: Recycling centres can reprocess papers five to seven times.
As mentioned earlier, papers have a long lifespan. They can be reprocessed for about 5 to 7 times, depending on their initial quality. A sheet of paper has fibres that dictate its recyclability. As long as these threads are long enough, recycling is possible until they crumble.
Fact #4: Not all papers are recyclable.
Not all paper products are recyclable, especially if they have exposure to chemicals. It affects their fibres and makes it hard to recycle. Here are some of the non-recyclable rubbish:
- Wet Papers
- Shredded Papers
- Receipts
- Photo Papers
- Tissue Papers
- All Paper Products Contaminated with Food (e.g. parchment paper, pizza boxes)
Fact #5: Recycling paper saves more energy than the newly created ones.
Trees are not the only ones that benefit from recycling. Paper manufacturers conserve about 30-50% energy from creating recycled paper products than making new from scratch.
Furthermore, according to the University of Southern Indiana, a tonne of recycled papers also saves 4000 kW of energy, 27 cubic metres of water, and 1500 litres of oil.
Fact #6: Paper recycling was first patented in the 19th century.
An Englishman, Matthias Koops patented the first recycled paper on April 28, 1800. He described it as removing ink from printed or written papers and converting them to pulps to create new ones.
Fact #7: About 77% of office paper wastes are recyclable.
Offices are one of the leading paper consumers as documents, reports, and memos require printed copies. An average employee uses about 10, 000 sheets of paper each year.
It’s a lot of rubbish if these papers are not recycled. So be a responsible worker, and do not throw papers right away. Let recycling centres reprocess them so you can use them once again.
Fact #8: Recycling one-metre stack of newspapers can rescue a tree.
News is now online, and information is easily accessible on the internet. So you need to maximise the developing technologies and abandon the hard copies to help protect the environment.
Fact #9: Australia needs to improve its efforts in recycling papers.
According to the National Waste Report 2018, Australia produces 67 megatonnes (mt) of wastes, and 5.7 mt of them are paper and cardboard products. Paper recycling rate dropped from 66% to 60%, while its landfilling rate increased from 34% to 40%.
Thus, authorities need to implement stricter regulations in reducing waste and recycling measures.
Fact #10: Paper bags and plastic bags are not eco-friendly.
Officials are slowly phasing out plastic bags as they decompose for a long time. So you probably settle for paper bags to hold grocery items. However, this demands to trim down more trees.
Hence, both of them are not actually eco-friendly. The best way to go is by using reusable bags to minimise the paper and plastic use every time you shop.
Conclusion
Trees supply the paper needs of the world. But it is not possible forever. We need to practise reducing and recycling papers to achieve a sustainable and balanced ecosystem.
Presented with ten interesting facts about paper recycling, what will be your move? As humans, we must protect the environment even in our little ways. Thus, start stacking recyclable papers now and have a trusted removal partner to collect them.
Whenever you have large piles of paper in your homes and offices, Aussie Junk can help get rid of them for you. We offer all sorts of rubbish removal in Sydney. We are skilled and knowledgeable about the different types of paper, and we segregate them according to their recyclability. Moreover, we have a vast network of recycling partners that will undoubtedly take all of your paper waste to good use.
For inquiries or bookings please call us at 0435 569 921 or book your appointment online.
