Paper – Dinosaur or Darling?
January 31st, 2011
“Consider the environment before you print.”
That’s a line which, at this point on the cyber timeline, we are all very familiar with. Now try this one on for size:
“Consider the environment before you communicate electronically rather than via paper.”
A bit less catchy, granted, and it probably leaves you scratching your head, so ingrained is the notion that paper is inherently ‘bad’ for the environment.
Of course, the directive at the beginning of this piece is completely valid, and the attempt here is not to undermine it. Rather, the idea is to dispel some of the myths that condemn paper as being categorically evil, environmentally speaking, and that consequently place electronics as the flawless darlings of the communications world.
Think about this: paper is made from a renewable resource, and is fully recyclable. Compare that to laptops, PCs, printers and servers. Ok, so you’ll discard a lot more paper than hardware on a weekly or monthly basis, but the fact is that 20-50 million tonnes of electronic products are discarded every year, and much of this waste is not recyclable. In contrast, recent reports state that, in Europe, 71% of paper used is later recycled.
Another very surprising statistic has to do with the energy involved in producing paper. It is often assumed – and I hold my own hands up here – that it takes vast amounts of energy to produce paper. The reality is that the 500kWh of electricity required to produce 200kg of paper (the average amount that each of us use in a year) is the equivalent of powering one computer continuously for five months, or burning a 60w light bulb continuously for one year. On the other hand, sending one email with a 400k attachment to twenty people uses energy equivalent to that of burning a 100w light bulb for thirty minutes.
Of course, paper has other benefits that electronic means will never be able to match: it is versatile, practical and offers aesthetic features that a computer screen just doesn’t have. According to Royal Mail, “our mood will improve by up to 29% if exposed to a positive tactile feeling” – so it’s good for the soul as well!
So while it’s still important to consider the environment before you print, hopefully the facts above will show that using paper and printed materials isn’t quite as shameful as we thought.
Oh, and while we’re at it – at Riasca all of our paper is FSC certified, and we offer a huge range of eco-friendly products on our website, www.riasca.co.uk. Plus, we can provide you with recycling bins and related products, and offer advice on how to make your office eco-friendly.
The data above is taken from www.twosides.info.
