THE WAY IT IS
Paper waste comprises 40% of our municipal solid waste stream.
Less than 1/3 of our paper is manufactured from recycled sources, and in the U.S., 99% of the virgin fiber used for paper manufacturing comes from trees.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that by 2010, worldwide paper and paperboard consumption will increase 90% from 1993. This equates to a consumption level of 528 million tons.
U.S. businesses throw away 21 million tons of paper every year, the equivalent of 175 pounds per office worker.
On average, every American consumes over 730 pounds of paper a year, making the U.S. the world's greatest paper consumer. A 12-foot high wall stretching from New York City to Los Angeles could be built with our annual office and writing paper waste.
The 300 million rolls of fax paper we use each year is enough to go from the Earth to the moon 26 times.
THE GOOD NEWS
Paper waste comprises 40% of our municipal solid waste stream.
Less than 1/3 of our paper is manufactured from recycled sources, and in the U.S., 99% of the virgin fiber used for paper manufacturing comes from trees.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that by 2010, worldwide paper and paperboard consumption will increase 90% from 1993. This equates to a consumption level of 528 million tons.
U.S. businesses throw away 21 million tons of paper every year, the equivalent of 175 pounds per office worker.
On average, every American consumes over 730 pounds of paper a year, making the U.S. the world's greatest paper consumer. A 12-foot high wall stretching from New York City to Los Angeles could be built with our annual office and writing paper waste.
The 300 million rolls of fax paper we use each year is enough to go from the Earth to the moon 26 times.
THE GOOD NEWS
Benefits of RecyclingRecycling one ton of new paper translates into the savings of:
17 mature pulp-producing trees
78.75 gallons of oil
7,000 gallons of water
41,000 Kilowatt hours of energy
17 mature pulp-producing trees
78.75 gallons of oil
7,000 gallons of water
41,000 Kilowatt hours of energy
In keeping with NYC's mantra IF YOU CAN TEAR IT, WE CAN TAKE IT, don't forget to recycle ALL your paper except for that which comes into contact with food and post-it notes (because of the sticky stuff).
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