MODULE 2: Waste

FACT SHEET - PAPER

What a waste!
The average British person uses 250kg of paper
per year

World paper use is around 335 million tonnes per

year and the UK consumes around 5 times the
global mean. It has increased 400% since 1970.

cards,

In order to produce this quantity of paper from

virgin wood pulp requires the clearing of 250 sq
kilometres of forest per day. In practice a lot of it
contains recycled material and other fibres but the
paper industry still consumes 42% of all timber
felled industrially, amounting 3 million hectares of
forest.

100kg printed material 100 paperbacks,

400 magazines & catalogues, 5,000 sheets
of reports, letters and printouts.

The UK's largest source of paper pulp is Canada

and over 90% of that is from natural forest rather
than industrial forest (ie plantations). There is
absolutely nothing sustainable about this.

What does 250 kg look like?

20kg tissue products 120 toilet rolls
70kg cardboard packaging 2 large bales
50kg newsprint 500 newspapers
10kg assorted paper
wrapping paper etc

greetings

> British Colombia, Canada, is home to a

quarter of the worlds remaining ancient
temperate rainforests

Between birth and death the average person in the

UK goes through around 20 tonnes of paper and
paper products.
Each USA citizen consumes 312 kg per year

> Temperate forests are the most

endangered forest type on the planet

Finland holds the world record at 333kg per year

per person.

> 90% of the logging in British Columbia

occurs in ancient forests

Somalia has the world's lowest consumption at

20g per person per year, with Laos coming in at
570g per year; less than the average UK citizen
consumes in one day!

> Over 40% of the trees cut in British

Coloumbia are used to produce paper

Paper production is the third most intensive use of energy in industry, accounting for 11.3% of all
industrial energy used.
One single sheet of A4 paper uses (and contaminates) one third of a litre of water in its manufacture.
Each tonne of 100% recycled paper (1,000,000 A4 sheets) saves:
26 trees [12 metres in height and 15 - 20 centimetres in diameter]
26769 litres of water,
4,5 kw hours of electricity,
30 kg of air pollution
Toilet tissue is the one paper that can be made from 100% recycled pulp. Yet less than 10% of all toilet
tissue sold contains a high proportion of recycled pulp according to a survey carried out by WWF. The
majority is made from 100% virgin pulp.
Many toilet roll packs now carry the mark of the Forestry Stewardship Counil (FSC) which indicates that
the pulp comes from managed forests. Whilst this is better than pulp from natural forests it should be
pulp from recycled sources.
Avoid wasting paper in the first instance. We take its availability for granted but precious resources
are used to make it - namely our forests. It's manufacture also uses vast amounts of energy, the
majority of which is produced from fossil fuels.
When you can find no further use for it, make sure it is recycled.
Whenever you buy any paper products, try to buy those with a high recycled content. Make a point of
asking for them.
References
European Environmental Paper Network
http://www.environmentalpaper.org/

www.christian-ecology.org.uk

MODULE 2: Waste

ACTION
Do not print out from your computer unless it is essential. If you must print, always print double sided.
Always use recycled paper for your printouts. If your local retailer doesn't stock it, ask them to.
If you are responsible for your church magazine, ensure that it is printed on recycled paper. If it is not,
then ask why not.
Do not accept flyers, leaflets or free newspapers unless you really need them.
Share newspapers and magazines with friends and neighbours. Better to read online. This is now
possible with most major titles.
Always re-use envelopes. Reserve the use of new ones for special occasions.
If you have to buy new envelopes make sure they are made from recycled paper.
Before finally comitting paper to the recycling bin, always check for blank areas. These can be used for
notes instead of post-its.
Use washable fabric handkerchiefs instead of paper tissues.
Resist the urge to take paper napkins in cafes. Use fabric napkins at home.
Always buy 100% recycled toilet tissue. If your retailer doesn't stock it, ask them to. Do not be fobbed
off with FSC rolls!
Avoid the use of paper kitchen towels. Use washable fabric cloths instead.
Sign up to the Mail Preference Service (http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/) to avoid junk mail.
Return junk mail to sender asking to be removed from their database (Often a free post envelope is
enclosed. This will cost them money if you use it!).
Never tick the box on the form saying you would like to receive further information. Better to use their
website if you are able; or make a telephone call.

Recycled paper is still viewed by many

commercial printers as sub-standard but the
fact remains that there are now many high
quality papers on the market with a high
recycled content. Most of the large publishing
houses are now acknowledging this fact and
many books are now available printed on
recycled paper.
Traditionally the newspaper industry has used
paper with some recycled content. Newsprint is
a continous process fed by huge rolls of paper
which are kept under tension as they pass
through the machinery. Because of this there is
a limit to the amount of recycled fibre this
process will take and currently it is around 54%.
Kimberly Clarke, the world's largest toilet tissue
manufacturers (Andrex and Kleenex) have always
refused to use recycled fibre in their products.
They are marketed on their supreme softness
and they claim they cannot acheive this with
recycled fibre. The technology now exists and
there is no reason why they shouldn't. (WWF

www.christian-ecology.org.uk

Toilet Tissue Survey 2007)

Georgia Pacific, the world's largest paper
manufacturer, and manufacturers of one of the
few 100% recycled toilet tissues on the UK
market (Nouvelle) scored the lowest possible
marks for environmental concern in their
manufacturing process in the WWF Toilet Tissue
Survey in 2007. (http://www.wwf.org.uk/)
Most
major
supermarkets
and
chemist
chainstores have recycled toilet tissue produced
for them but not all branches stock it. Ask for it.
Similarly with High Street stationers. They all
have stationery produced for them that has a
high recycled content. Make sure your local
branch stocks it by asking for it.
Independent stationers can obtain it through
their wholesalers but may be committed to a
minimum order. How about your team, or a
group from your church making up a minimum
order and sharing it between you?