Some Perspective

I have spent an increasing amount of time thinking about paper products, all they consume and how to reduce and/or cut out.

In my search I saw a company called Marcal Small Steps. They make paper towels, toilet tissue, facial tissue & napkins all form 100% recycled paper.

I got an email from them earlier today that I would like to share it with you. I think this helps put our use into perspective and that it is a great tool to share with those who ask you "Why?".

A TOP TEN LIST NOBODY’S LAUGHING AT:
TEN BIG REASONS WHY RECYCLED PAPER MUST REPLACE
DEAD TREES IN HOUSEHOLD PAPER PRODUCTS

Virgin tree pulp, also called virgin fiber, is the paper industry’s term for the most common source for towel, napkins, bath and facial tissues found on store shelves. But virgin fiber is obtained only one way: by killing trees.

The resulting deforestation contributes to the release of greenhouse gases, believed to dramatically magnify the effects of global warming. Now consider that 98 percent of all paper towels napkins, bath and facial tissue used in American homes is made from virgin fiber, instead of 100 percent recycled paper like every Marcal® product.

Staggering facts abound. Here’s a top 10 list from Marcal Small Steps™:

* Americans uses approximately 800 lbs per capita of paper per year. – Resource Conservation Alliance

* Every 17 trees saved helps the earth absorb 250 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually. – AmeriFlow Recycling Inc.

* Every American uses approximately one 100-foot-tall Douglas fir tree’s-worth of
paper and wood products per year. – American Forest and Paper Association

* A single tree produces approximately 260 pounds of oxygen per year. That means two mature trees can supply enough oxygen annually to support a family of four. – U.S. Department of Agriculture and Bombay Natural History Society

* Half of the world’s forests have already been cleared or burned, and 80 percent of what is left has been seriously degraded. – Environmental Paper Network

* One tree can absorb as much carbon in a year as a car produces while driving 26,000 miles. - U.S. Department of Agriculture and Bombay Natural History Society

* The average U.S. office worker produces two pounds of paper waste per day. – Envirowise

* Manufacturing one pound of paper requires three and a half pounds of wood and produces three pounds of carbon dioxide. – Nature Canada

* Discarded paper is one of the largest contributors to methane emissions from landfills. (Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more potent in its effects than CO2.) – Ernest Mayer, “What Evolution is 2001”

* An EPA study concluded that “Federal subsidies of virgin paper product undoubtedly cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars.” – Federal Disincentives: A Study of Federal Tax Subsidies and Other Programs Affecting Virgin Industries and Recycling (Washington, DC: EPA, August 1994), p.5.