How Environment-Friendly Is Paper?
Paper can have a significant impact on our environment, which can have a devastating effect on our ecosystem.
Whether we write an email or a letter, we use resources and energy. Every decision we make involves environmental trade-offs, and there is no single “correct” response, according to Leon Minnie, Manager of Production Print at Konica Minolta South Africa.
We are constantly exposed to warnings concerning the damage that printing does to the environment. This is partly because it is falsely believed that the paper used in the printer at your local business comes from a rainforest that is being destroyed. Few people are aware that all paper produced in South Africa is made from trees cultivated on plantations, recycled paper, or bagasse (sugar cane fiber). It is false to claim that tablets, laptops, and other smart devices are environmentally friendly and have no negative effects on our forests.
Timber plantations in South Africa store 900 million tons of CO annually, providing a significant environmental service and aiding in the fight against global warming. By utilizing photosynthesis to naturally absorb carbon dioxide (CO) and release oxygen, forests reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The CO levels in the atmosphere would be 5% higher (approximately 0.5 degrees) than they are now if it weren’t for the pulp and paper sector running globally for the past 150 years.
A vital part of a sustainable future is played by managed woods. South Africa has the greatest degree of international certification in the world according to the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) accreditation of more than 80% of South African plantations.
Just as maize was planted for our cereal and wheat for our bread, so are 600 million trees spread across 762,000 hectares specifically farmed for use in the pulp and paper industry.
Despite the fact that the digital age of communication and its ease cannot be stopped, the print business should not boast that electronic information distribution is more environmentally benign than print. Every communication choice has an effect on the surrounding area. In reality, the quantity of fossil fuel that server farms that power computers require is doubling every year, making them the world’s fastest-increasing consumer of fossil fuel. Think about how many different minerals and metals, such as gold, silver, and palladium, must be mined and refined in order to make one computer. Additionally, a lot of plastics and hydrocarbon solvents must be used. The majority of computers are imported from abroad via ships or airplanes, which have the highest carbon footprints. And that’s before they are transported domestically by trucks or trains.
One doesn’t realize that printing out a document versus reading it on a screen produces more carbon dioxide (CO). A printed document can be recycled after use and read numerous times without producing further emissions.
For instance, whether we write an email or a letter, we use resources and energy. Every decision we make involves environmental trade-offs, and there is no one “correct” response. To completely comprehend the impact and performance of both electronic media and print on paper, effective stewardship necessitates a comprehensive analysis of the wider picture, one that spans the entire lifetime, from raw materials to energy use and end of life.
- A printed 700-page paper produces 85g of CO (one copy can be read over and over again without further emissions).
- Each time you read it on a computer for an hour, 226g of CO is released.
- Each copy of the 700-page document burned to a CD is expected to produce 300g of carbon dioxide.
- Every copy burned to DVD is thought to produce 350g of CO.
Looking at our own nation, paper has played a significant role in South Africa’s economy since 1970, and the country’s annual growth rate exceeds the global average. A large portion of this was used to support local innovation, resources, and labor. R18.2 billion, or 0.6% of South Africa’s GDP, was added to the local economy in 2013 as a result of the forestry-to-paper industry. According to the Forestry of South Africa, this sector, which includes producing forestry pulp and paper as well as recycling, employs about 150,000 people. Imagine how this would affect the entire world.
Sustainable printing techniques have recently improved greatly thanks to modern commercial printing. Commercial printers and producers, like Konica Minolta, are making considerable advances in lowering their environmental footprints, from recycling to energy use. These consist of:
- Buying goods, materials, and services from people and businesses who show a commitment to sustainability;
- obtaining credentials for third-party certification;
- minimizing the negative effects of chemicals by employing aqueous coatings, eco-friendly soy inks, and chemical processes without alcohol;
- substituting waste paper and biodegradable packaging with foam peanuts made of petroleum;
- Making use of a greater proportion of paper grades that are post-consumer recycled and third-party forest certified to come from ethical sources;
- educating staff members about the environment, recycling practices, and certification training;
- installing ink monitoring equipment on presses to cut down on waste; and
- Recycling printing plates to name a few
The immediate solution is not a world without paper or print, which would have a disastrous impact on civilization.
The print sector must have more influence in addressing governments’ and corporations’ ideologies about a paperless world as well as their ignorance about it. The truth is that paper should be marketed as a crucial product for environmental sustainability because it is still as relevant today as it was before electronic gadgets. It should be just as important as water and future computer technology. The major players in the market are not sufficiently informed on the credentials and activities of paper.
The paper and print industry is disregarded as a suitable commodity for our future society, despite the fact that there are international summits about global warming and sustainability for our children, and we are blind to the biggest and most significant product that addresses those requirements in totality. Few industries, whether in developed or developing nations, can match pulp and paper’s environmental advantages.
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