Page 68 - Dryad Big Book 2023
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Paper – An Extraordinary Product A continuously renewable product; we grow trees for the purpose and
harvest them when they are ready.
A long history; first discovered in 105AD and introduced into Europe in 1150AD. It’s revolutionized communication.
Reuse; paper is aone of the easiest products to recycle making it an economic fibre source for many products.
− Check your arrangements for recycling? Did you know that by using the Boomerang service you can not only ensure that your paper waste is confidentially disposed of but that it is also recycled for future use.
Using paper destroys forests!
Absolutely not the case.
Myth 1
The facts are that the opposite is the case; for every managed tree cut down 3 or 4 are planted to restart the growing cycle.
If trees were only ever cut down and not replanted; we would probably have run out of trees by now!
To ensure a consistent supply of raw material more trees are planted every
year and then carefully managed to ensure they remain healthy and grow into a high-quality resource.
In Europe alone the area of forestry is increasing annually by an area equivalent to more than 1.5 million football pitches.
Myth 2
Email and digital is better for the environment!
Digital communication also has environmental impacts
Appeals to “Go Paperless”, “Go Green” and “Save Trees” are all too common with organisations who encourage their customers to switch to electronic transactions and communications.
But what are the real facts? Is it really that simple?
These messages appear to suggest that electronic communication is more environmentally friendly than traditional, paper-based communication.
Conclusion
However, paper is a uniquely renewable and sustainable product. The main raw material, wood, is grown and harvested in a carefully controlled and sustainable way contributing to the significant growth of Europe’s forests.
The increasing use of electronic communication/storage is increasing energy demand at an enormous rate; in fact so much so that if compared with countries the cloud would rank 6th in the world.
Electronic processes and storage use very significant energy resources so consider what works best; if it’s paper and it works better then don’t be afraid to print it, use it and recycle it.
For more information on Paper and the Environment visit: www.whitecopierpaper.com
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