We all know that we should be recycling the paper that we use, but very few of us actually do it. Why is that? It is not difficult to do, so the assumption must be that we are not fully aware of the benefits that it provides. With that in mind, what follows is a look at the main benefits to be had from recycling paper…

- Forests, and the wildlife that live within them, are destroyed as a result of our excessive use of paper. Put simply, the less paper we recycle, the less trees we need to cut down. As well as the effect on wildlife and plant-life, excessive deforestation also creates visual scars on our beautiful planet. Once a forest has been cut down, there is little to no chance of that land ever being home to an ecosystem again.

- 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.

- It costs less money to make paper products from recycled paper than it does from virgin pulp. Just think, all of the costs that come from cutting down trees and transporting them are taken out of the equation. In these tough financial times, we all need to do what we can to avoid unnecessary waste, and this one area where waste can certainly be reduced. It also costs less to buy recycled products so, as consumers, we can make savings too.

- Used paper based products that are not recycled have to be got rid of in other ways, namely either in landfill sites or at incineration plants. Landfill sites are both an eyesore and a problem for the environment. Why waste space in landfill sites with paper when there is a better solution – recycling. As for incinerating waste paper, doing so pumps harmful toxins into the atmosphere.

- Producing recycled paper uses much less total energy than producing virgin paper. Depending on the grade of paper, producing recycled paper may use less purchased energy in the form of fossil fuels and electricity. Pretty much all of the energy that we use damages the environment in one way or another, and so we should save what we can where we can.

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