Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Paper Cuts

Each of us throws away, on average, a quarter of a ton of paper every year. Globally, 70% of the 335 million tons of paper the world uses each year comes from natural, un-farmed sources.

How to save the trees
* Do not pick up paper napkins in cafés.

* Ask yourself: do I need to print this? If so, use both sides of the paper.

* Make sure any paper you buy (toilet rolls through to writing paper) comes from recycled sources.

* Re-use paper bags or compost receipts and torn-up bank statements

* Cut down on and share magazines, return unwanted catalogues to the sender.

* Ask your boss to buy recycled paper for your workplace.

Pulp facts
* Deforestation caused by paper production is thought to be a bigger cause of global warming than transport.

* It is a myth that most paper comes from sustainable sources. Seventy per cent of it comes from natural forests

* Around 75 per cent of the paper for magazines is production wastage and is never read.

* Advertisers know that 99.7 per cent of recipients of junk mail throw it away unread. They think it's worth it for the 0.3 per cent who might.

Learn More at The Independent

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