Environmental impact of paper
Jaw dropping, eyes popping, OMG fact! Each day 27 million business cards are printed in the US alone! Now calculate the number of business cards printed worldwide. Lol just kidding, let’s replace the calculate with imagine. Does it render you speechless? Care to venture a guess? It’s 100 billion! Yes, that is billion with a ‘b.’ An even more astonishing fact is that 88 percent of these freshly printed business cards will be thrown away within a week! WHAT A WASTE! Agreed some environmentally conscious people will end up chucking them in the recycling bin, but most of these cards will make their way to already overflowing landfills.
The main component of these business cards – paper, usually sourced from trees! Cutting down of trees has led to abundant deforestation and destruction of natural habitats. Although these trees are the primary ingredient for a variety of things, 42 percent of the globally harvested wood is used to make paper! These trees play a very crucial role to keep the planet livable as they act like a sponge absorbing a lot of the carbon dioxide (CO2) gas – a major contributor to global warming.
With respect to the “most resource-intensive” and contaminating of all manufacturing industries worldwide – paper production tops the chart. A mind-boggling 324 liters of water is needed to make just 1 kilogram of paper! Surprised? Shocked? Take a minute to let that fact sink in! To top it up, bleaches used to whiten paper contain harmful carcinogens that are released into the water bodies and atmosphere. These are just the direct environmental impacts associated with paper production – let’s get to the indirect impact – energy consumption! A huge issue in modern times! From manufacturing to transport and finally managing the waste materials, energy is needed in every step of the way!
Just some statistics – Half of all business waste is paper! One-third of all municipal waste is paper! A quarter of waste in a landfill is, guess what? – you’re right, its PAPER! This paper in the landfill decomposes and emits methane (CH4) – a greenhouse gas that is a whopping 20 times more potent than CO2.
Well…that was one boring and factual read! Congratulations and thank you for making it to the end.
Jokes apart, everything you read is a matter of concern and why would you want to contribute to these major disasters any further?Switch to Sailax digital business cards! Create an unforgettable impression and help save our mother earth!