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Paper serves various purposes in different businesses & its use is inevitable. Be it an education, medical, technical, or any other service-providing firm, almost every firm over the globe uses paper. So, It is mandatory to check the carbon footprint involved in the paper-making process. Knowing the carbon footprint associated with it will also help a company to make a well-informed decision regarding the usage of paper in their quest for sustainable operations. Therefore, Let's understand the paper-making process and the emissions associated with it.
Paper is made in two ways, depending on the type of raw material (pulp) used. Paper made from freshly sourced pulp directly from trees is called virgin paper and paper made from recycled pulp (sourced from used paper) is called recycled paper.
A Study was conducted by five researchers of a tissue manufacturing company in Spain in 2010 to understand and analyze the GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions involved during the manufacturing process of both; Virgin and Recycled paper. The results compared both the papers in all aspects such as GHG emission, raw material sourcing, energy, and water requirements during the paper-making process. The products were analyzed from raw material extraction until the end of product life. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) also considered vehicular emissions associated with vehicles and ships that transport the pulp, chemicals, and other required materials from their production site to the paper manufacturing site. The vehicular operations and emissions from using energy and material during maintenance are also included to measure the complete impact on the environment.
Study Findings
Manufacturing one kg of virgin paper releases 1.5 kg GHGs into the environment whereas recycled paper releases 1.3 kg GHGs.
Recycled paper needs more thermal and electrical energy for Industrial manufacturing stages. After reading this statement, the virgin paper might seem more economical but a complete life cycle assessment tells a different story.
In the overall life cycle assessment, virgin paper emits 30% more greenhouse gas than recycled pulp paper.
Production of 1 kg virgin pulp paper releases 568kg more GHGs than recycled paper into the atmosphere.
For each kg of tissue paper manufacturing, only 'the wood pulping stage' produces 559g CO2 eq- three times more GHG emissions in comparison to waste paper collection.
Virgin pulp paper or Recycled paper; Which one is better?
Several useful results were found in the analysis of the life cycle assessment of a paper from manufacturing to end of life. The carbon footprint is lower for recycled paper than for virgin pulp paper. Virgin pulp paper releases 1.5 kg GHGs per kg, whereas recycled paper releases 1.3 kg GHGs per kg. The difference of 0.2 kg GHGs might seem less. But remember, this difference is for only one kg of paper. Several tons Kg of paper is manufactured every year. Hence, the cumulative effect makes the difference of 0.2 kg GHGs emissions very profound.
The recycling process needs fewer materials and consumes less energy. Another important point is that Virgin pulp paper requires freshly harvested forest for its pulp requirement. It leads to deforestation. Whereas recycled paper uses only waste paper as raw material and in this process, recycling also solves the problem of improper waste management.
Switching to a more sustainable option is best in the environmental interest. So, Businesses should try to cut off their carbon footprint and reduce natural resource usage where ever possible. The difference between virgin paper and recycled paper is listed in the table to help your company in making a well-informed decision.
Virgin Pulp Paper VS Recycled Paper
Advantages of Recycled Paper
Recycled paper has many advantages over virgin paper. Few are enlisted below-
Low GHGs Emission- Recycled paper production put relatively lower burden on planet because of its lower GHGs emission.
Waste Management- Waste paper forms a good proportion of municipal solid waste. Recycling waste paper solves a larger problem.
Lower Carbon Footprint- The amount of CO2 eq released in the surrounding is less in the case of recycled paper.
Sustainable Development- Today, paper demand is on rise. One needs to prefer recycled paper to increase sustainability and to reduce waste.
Saves Natural Resources- Drastically increasing human population puts a lot of pressure on natural resources to meet the demands.
Easy Manufacturing- Waste paper recycling is comparatively easy than plastic, because plastic needs to be sorted into recyclable and non-recyclable one.
Good Alternative- Recycled paper is a good option in the place of virgin paper.
Multidimensional Usage- Recycled paper can be redesigned in a variety of ways. It can be used as Brown paper bags, SOS bags, Newspapers, Sustainable D- cut paper bags, etc for packaging and transportation of other commodities.
Conclusion
Seeing the advantages of recycled paper over virgin paper, we can say that recycled paper has a lower GHGs emission over the life cycle assessment. Businesses need to switch to recycled paper to reduce their carbon footprint and add to their sustainability strategy and present themselves as an eco-conscious organization.
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