Historically, paper has been one of most important inventions made by humankind.Paper revolutionized how we recorded information. It also created a vast treasure trove of knowledge because humans have been able to learn about previous societies.What began as a means of recording data has now become a billion dollar industry. However, this industry has also caused an environmental threat to the world.How paper affects the environment?Paper accounts for one of the most important inventions in the history of the world. Paper manufacturing has spawned an entire pulp and paper industry. What are the environmental effects of paper usage and how can the industrial sector minimize it?Paper products have trees as the essential building block. This means that trees need to be cut down in order for manufacturing industries in the paper and pulp industry to continue the high rate of paper production in the world. This means that paper companies need a lot of trees in order to support the global production of paper. The demand for trees to make paper has caused large amounts of forests to be destroyed.Deforestation is at the heart of the significant environmental impact of paper production. It has endangered many species of animals due to the loss of habitat. Additionally, trees contribute to cleaning the carbon dioxide from the air. Large amounts of rainforests are under threat due to paper production, and these rainforests are the largest contributors of cleaning carbon dioxide.The paper production process is also a key aspect in air pollution. These air pollutants are released from paper mills, and include greenhouse gases such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, as well as carbon dioxide. These greenhouse gases are direct contributors to acid rain around the world.The process 0f producing paper is energy intensive. It consumes about 4% of the total energy that is consumed in the world. The paper industry ranks in the top five industries in the world in terms of how much energy is used, making the carbon footprint of the paper industry massive. The process of producing a sheet of paper involves a lot of water. For every A4 sheet of paper that is produced, about 2.6 gal (11.8 l) of water is needed. This water contains different types of solid contaminants that go on to cause water pollution, as well as soil pollution.Paper Towels And Paper Towel WastePaper towels are huge contributors of paper waste around the world. Here are some facts about the amount of waste caused by them!Discarded paper towels account for 254 million tons (230 million kg) of paper waste around the world. For every 1 ton (907 kg) of paper towels that is manufactured, 20,000 gal (76,000 l) of water is needed as well as 17 trees. By using and throwing away paper towels, humans increase the amount of solid waste that is generated in the world. This can be easily prevented by using fabric napkins instead of paper towels. By making this switch, everyone can contribute towards a cleaner planet.Tips To Save Paper In The WorkplaceThe workplace is one of the most common places where paper is used. These are some of the ways that paper can be saved in the workplace.Paper is used for documents in offices. These can be different files such as accounting or records of inventory. This paper waste can be avoided by simply shifting these systems to a digital system. By simply moving the systems of recording data to a computer, paper waste can be minimized. While it will take a considerable amount of resources, the long term benefits will more than make up for them. It is the social responsibility of not only the company, but its employees as well.The long term costs that are saved by not having to purchase large amounts of paper make up for the cost of setting up a digital system and training employees to use it. Another use of paper in the workplace is using paper for memos, taking notes, and sticky notes. Employees could take their notes on their laptops as another way to reduce paper waste.Notes could also be written in the form of e-mails and on reminder apps. If the company is large, there could be a common platform for all the members of the organisation. This common platform can be used for communication within the firm itself, and eliminates the need of paper to communicate with one another. Some office have paper cups in order to drink water. Workers could be encouraged to reusable water bottles.Toilet Paper WasteToilet paper is one of the most common forms of paper products that is seen around the world. The average family uses toilet paper more than paper sheets for writing. However, the average household may not know that toilet paper has the potential to cause enormous amounts of waste.The very process that creates toilet paper is wasteful, right from the very start. Many trees are cut down, which then needed to be transported to a factory. The process of manufacturing new paper is also wasteful and requires lots of resources. Consumer want soft toilet paper and to create this texture, chlorine is used. Chlorine bleaches the pulp and then makes it soft.This chlorine enters the water supply and contaminates local water sources. While it is indeed possible to reuse paper in order to minimize the damage caused to nature, recycling paper does not give paper the soft texture that consumers want. This means that recycling paper in order to create toilet paper is not a very popular option.Environmental Consequences Of Toilet Paper WasteThere are many environmental consequences of toilet paper waste.The biggest environment impact is the amount of trees that are cut down for the production of toilet paper. The number of trees needed to replace the amount of toilet paper that is thrown out every day is massive. The number currently stands at 5,400,000! To make the amount of toilet paper that is thrown out every day, 5,400,000 trees must be planted. Although toilet paper manufacturers make an effort to plant trees, this effort is small and does not make a difference on the larger scale.However, it is not just toilet paper that damages the environment, but all forms of paper products that are thrown out cause harm. Toilet paper is one of the major contributors of paper pollution, however all forms of paper products that are wasted and dumped usually end up in a landfill space. In landfill, paper becomes responsible for creating different types of pollution. Rotting paper releases methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is toxic to the environment, and is largely responsible for air pollution. Methane is responsible for acid rain that occurs around the world, as well as the depletion of the ozone layer.In order to have any chance of recovering from the waste that is created from creating paper, people need to make small changes in their daily lives. Junk mail that is constantly sent to people needs to be reduced because these leaflets usually end up in the bin. While these measures seem drastic, it is the reality that we live in, with the amount of solid waste increasing.The way forward to save the environment lies with recycled paper, since it is the only sustainable way of making change, short of completely stopping using paper. However, recycled paper comes with its own issues. While it may work with the paper we use to write on, recycled paper is much more rough than the paper that is produced to be used as toilet paper. Recycled toilet paper is difficult to use because it is not as soft compared to regular toilet paper.
Historically, paper has been one of most important inventions made by humankind.
