Question by ~*ToDo_Un_AvEnTuRa*~: Is recycling PAPER really good for the environment?
I have to do a project on a comparison, but I have heard that it is better to grow new trees then recycling old paper? Is recycling really good or is it bad for the environment?
Best answer:
Answer by David S
Recycling paper is good for the environment because the production of new paper uses more chemicals and energy.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Even though it’s good (great really) to grow new trees, it is BEST to recycle. One can do this is different ways. You could even recycle paper by using it in your garden. You could shred it, and use it, or you could use it whole. It will break down, the worms will eat it, and and their droppings is good fertilizer. Recycling to me means using something a second, or third time, rather than using chemicals on gardens etc. CUL Lou
Recycling paper is the best option BUT……(also in response to the answer which stated that it uses less chemicals and “Im in the printing industry”) It is only better if consumers use recycled paper responsibly and with an education on “recycled”. Most paper that gets the wonderful stamp of “recycled” usually only has a fraction of post consumer content. A large portion of the “recycled” paper is paper that is recycled directly inside the paper company. If we are talking about post consumer recycling, there are some problems.
1. If we want that nice sparkling white paper, we are using a LOT of chemicals to turn pretty gross looking post consumer pulp into paper. (Basically the post consumer recycled paper that gets used for…yup you guessed it , printing. Because very few self respecting printers want their wedding invitations, funeral announcements, business cards, etc. looking like they were printed on a combo of newspaper and dryer lint, which is what most post-consumer recycled paper looks like. Also the dispersal of ink on this type of paper is horrendous.) It is a little known fact that we use massive amounts of chemicals first to break down the post consumer paper and then turn it minty white. I would argue that we use MORE chemicals to recycle paper into printing paper than to use a virgin source. Now it becomes an argument over how badly and at what quantity we need pure white paper.
2. If we can live with paper being a little colored and/or ugly, then we have to DEMAND as consumers that anything that doesn’t need to be white (bags, packing materials, wrapping paper, etc.) ALL gets made from post consumer recycled paper. This cuts the quantity of chemicals used down considerably. Then if we need pure white paper for a special project (graduation announcements) we can use “virgin” paper for that.
3. We need to DEMAND that the government use recycled paper for everything. Imagine the cutback in tree use simply from this avenue.
Also It is nothing like recycling metal. (Which also has problems in that it uses massive amounts of energy, further increasing our reliance on our military/industrial complex and uses massive amounts of fresh water which is fast becoming scarce.) Metal can be re-smelted ad infinitum. Not so with paper. Eventually the pulp becomes unusable to the paper industry.
Yeah, Since it will reduce the trees that will be cutted for the paper, If you know that they have to cut very many trees for 10 sheets of pad paper, It’s worth it.. Plus, It will save the environment
yes it is good for the environment.
here are some other easy ways anyone can help save the planet: http://www.ehow.com/how_4552010_green-five-super-easy-steps.ht
Hi there,
Recycling paper is by far the best option.
The EPA has found that making paper from recycled materials results in 74% less air pollution and 35% less water pollution. This means that every ton of recycled paper keeps almost 60 pounds of pollutants out of the atmosphere that would have been produced if the paper had been manufactured from virgin resources.
Hope this helps.
recycling is best…the problem has been pollution of water.[takes a lot of h2o and bleach to clean and whiten paper] water recycling and treatment,, new regs have helped the cleanup
Recycling is AWESOME for the environment when you recycle paper it helps by not using new trees that haven’t been turned into paper from getting wasted trees give us oxygen so when we cut down trees your cutting down something the earth needs to live
..the idea of recycling is to reuse and reuse the item until it can no longer support the purpose it is make out to be..like reusing the other blank side of the paper for example before throwing it away.. or better still, have it shredded and use it as stuffing in handiwork sewn as souvenirs or ‘gifts’ to friends..etc. well…
You heard wrong. It costs less to recycle paper than to create new paper from trees. The same goes for metals. Melting and recycling steel, for example, costs less pound for pound than mining and smelting iron ore and making new steel. I heard a number for aluminum, 70% less. It takes only 30% of the energy required to mine and smelt aluminum as a metal and make it into cans than it does to take existing cans, melt them down and make new cans from old.