Importance of the recycling of paper for children
In the beginning, paper’s use was limited. However, what Ts’ai Lun, to whom the invention is attributed, never thought was that over the centuries it would become one of the elements of daily use throughout the world. Let’s learn about its origins, its uses and how we can contribute, with its consumption, to preserve our environment!
Its use is so widespread that we are now talking about strategies for its proper use and reuse, because we must not forget that its production depends mainly on wood obtained from trees.
Centuries of history are condensed in that sheet of paper that you have on your desk every day. Much has happened since the time of Ts’ai Lun. That is why now, in the face of serious environmental challenges such as deforestation and climate change, it is best to make the most of it. Your impact is much greater than you imagine!
Trees play a decisive role in the earth’s equilibrium. Thanks to them, the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) circulating in the air are reduced, which is, let’s remember, the most harmful greenhouse gas.
For every ton of recycled paper we save
While we should all be very conscious about recycling, it is not always clear “why” we should recycle. Is there really a significant benefit to recycling a soda can in a recycling garbage can and not just throwing it in the trash? If we better understand what the benefits of recycling are and how recycling helps the environment, the more inclined we will be to embrace recycling as a natural and important part of our lives.
The environmental problems of landfills are a difficult issue to solve. As more waste is deposited in landfills, the bigger the problem becomes. Products that are not biodegradable either take time to decompose or can remain in landfills for centuries, often emitting gases that could be harmful to the environment (see garbage island). Keeping paper out of landfills is just one way recycling helps the environment. At home, you can help minimize waste.
Recycle paper because
Climate change is also associated with the occurrence of extreme weather events such as heat waves and floods, and with the increased breeding and spread of insects, which in turn carry numerous diseases.
Recycling helps climate change because it is one of the keys to reducing global warming, and something as basic as separating the garbage we produce every day has a very important impact on the environment.
Recycling also helps climate change because it means less energy consumption. When we recycle wood, cardboard, glass, metals or plastics, we reduce the extraction, transportation and processing of new raw materials for production, and we help to consume less energy in all processes.
On the other hand, saving natural resources helps to conserve forests, called the “lungs” of the planet, and one of whose ‘jobs’ is to decontaminate the environment and filter particles of urban pollution: each tree can annually capture up to 150 kg of CO2, so that large areas of vegetation, like recycling, help climate change and keep the air we breathe cleaner.
What is done with recycled paper
The idea that people generally have about paper recycling is the following: I am going to buy recycled paper so that not so many forests are cut down, and thus I will contribute positively to the environment. But is this true, and does recycling paper really have less of an impact on the environment? The answer is not as easy as it seems.
For example, if we want to save trees, the effect seems to be the opposite, according to Joseph Heath, a professor at the University of Toronto, and other analysts. His reasoning goes like this: there are so many cows in the world because people eat cows; if people stopped eating less meat, there would be fewer cows, not more. The same can be applied to trees.
Most of the paper manufactured today comes from sustainable forests. This means that for every tree that is cut down, twice as many or more are planted. Countries such as Sweden, which has one of the world’s largest timber holdings, are thus managing to increase their forest mass as well as their production. And since today’s environmental regulations require many things such as chlorate-free paper, responsible production, etc., it turns out that first-generation paper can be even more environmentally friendly than recycled paper.