Recycling paper is not difficult to do and provides various benefits, however, most of us still do not do it often enough – if at all. What follows is a review of some of the benefits on offer. After reading through them, hopefully you will be more aware of the importance of recycling at least some of the paper that you use.

- As paper is made from trees, the less paper we use the less trees have to be cut down. The effect of cutting down trees is devastating on the environment. Whole ecosystems can come to an end as a result of just part of a forest being cut down. Therefore, recycling paper saves many animals and a lot of plant-life. There is also the visual impact that deforestation to consider. Google the term ‘deforestation’ and see for yourself what a stain excessively cutting down trees leaves on our planet.

- Lots of items that we use on an almost daily basis, such as newspapers, envelopes, cardboard boxes, paper towels and toilet rolls are as good when they are made from recycled paper as they are when they are made from ‘new’ paper. However, there is not enough recycled paper available to make such items solely from recycled paper because we are not recycling enough. Each time you take newspapers, envelopes, cardboard boxes, etc. to a recycling point after you have used them they can be turned into new items.

- Recycled paper has cost benefits as it is made from materials that would otherwise constitute the solid waste that is polluting our environment. By infusing this material into the paper manufacturing process, and getting rid of the costs associated with ‘virgin’ pulp and whitening agents, companies can achieve cost savings by both producing and consuming recycled materials

- Recycled paper products conserve resources and generate less pollution during manufacturing. This is because the fibers have already been processed once. It also reduces solid waste because it takes usable paper out of the waste stream. That means less total energy, water, and chemical use, and lower releases of air and water pollutants.

- Recycling paper means water consumption is reduced (1 ton of recycled paper can save over 6500 gallons of water) and less electricity is used (more than 400 kilowatt hours are saved by recycling 1 ton of paper). It also helps reduces our dependence on oil. Saving 2 barrels per ton of recycled paper really makes a difference in the long term.