RECYCLE PAPER for a SAFER TOMORROW!

Even in a technologically advanced era as that of today the demand for paper has not faded. It is assumed that 35%of municipal solid waste is contributed solely by paper and paper products.Although paper can be obtained from rags, cotton, grass, straw etc, the most common source of paper is wood pulp.

When a thing as simple as paper is deemed to augment global warming, recycling would be the ideal way to tackle it .So how does recycling paper benefit? This can be attributed to the fact that 1ton of newspaper on recycling is expected to erase 3cubic meter of landfill. Compared to the manufacture of virgin paper, air and water pollution caused by recycling is significantly low. Energy consumption in the case of recycling is far too less relative to the production of virgin paper. This is largely because the energy required for chopping down the trees, transportation, wood clipping and finally pulping involved in the conversion of wood to paper is absent here. Though afforestation can compensate for the numerous trees being axed down, it adversely effects the forest ecosystem. On replacing the natural forest with fast growing and less diverse plantation, it disturbs and destroys a well adapted wildlife habitat.

Now is the time to ponder over how we can bowl over these problems. First and foremost step would be to make less use of paper. Use scrap paper to jot down shopping list or to help your kids with some work of art.  Promote and go for paper extracted from alternate source and whenever possible opt for recycled paper. Away from the usual course of discarding waste paper into the trash, contact your local recycle centers. So reduce, reuse and recycle paper for the safety of our health, ecosystem and planet.