Tony Nguyen
English 2000
October 8, 2012
Paper Usage and the Environment
In order to complete my homework and take notes, I use large amounts of
paper daily. I have always been wasteful of the paper I use and am not aware of the
outcome it causes. Besides me, I am sure that every other student does not consider
how his or her usage of paper affects anything else besides the individual’s own
grades. It is nearly impossible to count the amount of paper we use and trash in a
day, so we end up buying more paper, and the cycle continues. This kind of habit has
caused a huge effect upon the environment. I found out that the production and the
disposing of paper cause many consequences to the environment. Jinglan Hong, a
professor from the School of Environmental Science, said that paper production
“contribute[s] to the potential impacts of non-carcinogens, respiratory inorganic,
terrestrial ecotoxicity, global warming, and non-renewable energy” (Hong 264-270).
Many people do not realize that using paper in our daily lives can cause major
problems in our environment today.
I never realized the amount of trees we sacrifice in order for us to use as
paper. In the US, we use around 749 pounds of paper a year. To provide us with this
paper, we require nearly four billion trees. This number represents thirty-five
percent of the total trees cut around the world (Martin). This large amount of trees
we cut causes deforestation. The cause of deforestation affects the climate change
and erosion of soil in the environment. It causes a higher level of carbon dioxide to
be retained in the atmosphere, without trees to create photosynthesis to help
remove it. This level of carbon dioxide is exposed into the atmosphere that changes
the climate and contributes to global warming. The soil also needs trees to protect it
from the sun and store nutrients. Deforestation causes the soil to degrade and
deplete the nutrients’ storage. This depletion turns forests into wastelands.
Deforestation is also known to cause flooding due to little amount of vegetation to
hold off heavy rain, and the water becomes river runoff instead of going into the soil
to recharge aquifers. Deforestation is a huge problem for water recycling and
changes forest to dry land and wasteland (Hilderman).
The production of paper also causes an effect upon the atmosphere. Every
year, highly toxic chemicals like volatile sulfur compounds, dioxins, and methanol
are released into the air and water from papermaking plants (Martin). The release
of sulfur compound chemicals pollutes the atmosphere, causes respiratory
disorders, and also asthmatic suffering to people’s health. Dioxins and methanol are
highly toxic to humans. When we are exposed with high enough doses, it can result
in nervous system damage, blindness, illnesses, and long-term exposure can lead to
liver damage. Methanol also effects the environment, because it exposes the ozone
layer in the atmosphere to the sun’s ray when it evaporates into the air, which
contributes to global warming (Bell).
Our water resources are also affected by the production of paper. Paper
industries are considered to be one of the highest water consumption factories in
the world that generates wastewater. Wastewater causes a decline in the water
quality. It is created from the different types of toxic chemicals that are released into
the water during the production of paper. These chemicals include resin acids,
inorganic dyes, chlorinated compounds, unsaturated acids, and absorbable organic
halides (Moussaoui 217-23). The wastewaters are then exposed into freshwater and
may cause the deaths of aquatic organisms (Logan). Wastewater represents an
influence to the quality reduction of water and to the influence of pollutant levels
(Logan).
In the US, the amount of paper going into landfills has increased alongside
the amount we use. The EPA has reported that 28 percent of landfills are taken up
by paper. The increase in landfills causes many problems to the environment.
Paper-related material as “sludge” is often discarded into these landfills. This sludge
contains metallic compounds and toxins that enter the water supply and cause
sickness (Bell). Many people do not realize that since paper is not biodegradable it
stays in the landfill and affects the atmosphere. It can take 5 to 15 years for paper to
breakdown in a landfill. When paper breaks down, it reduces garbage space and
releases methane. Methane is potent as a greenhouse gas, making landfills an
environmental hazard ("greenforestpaper.com").
Although we cannot entirely solve the negative impacts paper has on us, we
can help reduce it by simply recycling. Recycling helps reduce the need for trees as
well as the raw materials for paper production (Logan). It protects the forest
because there would be a lower demand for wood. Recycling also diverts 26 percent
of the solid waste from landfills. These are the many ways recycling would help
prevent the landfills and greenhouse gas emission, and stop the degradation of
earth’s ecosystem ("greenforestpaper.com"). Recycling helps recover 110 million
tons of paper used, and 60 percent of the paper was kept out of landfills in 2009 and
2010 (Martin).
The excessive amount of paper we use in our daily lives for different
purposes causes major damages to the environment that people are not aware of.
The production and after-use of paper causes a major negative impact to our
environment, such as problems rising from air pollution to wastewater toxicity.
These consequences can dramatically affect our health. Although these problems
will continue to happen each day because of our need and use of paper, we should
try to prevent it. People can reduce toxicity in air and water and other
environmental issues if they use paper wisely. They can re-use paper, doing their
work electronically, and by recycling (Amutenya 237-42). These methods reduce
the quantities of paper used. In order to prevent my use of paper, I plan to use my
laptop more to type my notes, instead of using papers. I can also limit myself to a
certain amount of paper to use. By using these methods, I can help the environment
by keeping my papers out of landfills and saving a couple trees.
Works Cited
Amutenya, N., et al. "Paper Recycling Patterns and Potential Interventions in The
Education Sector: A Case Study of Paper Streams at Rhodes University, South Africa."
In Resources, Conservation & Recycling 53.5 (2008): 237-42. ScienceDirect. Database.
24 Sep 2012.
Bell, Melissa. "Paper Manufacturing's Effects on People ." eHow.com. Demand Media,
Inc., 2012. Web. 25 Sep 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/info_8528990_papermanufacturings-effects-people.html>.
Hong, Jinglan. "Environmental Assessment of Recycled Printing and Writing Paper: A
Case Study in China." In Waste Management 32.2 (2011): 264-70. ScienceDirect. Web.
25 Sep 2012.
Hilderman, Richard. "The Effect of Deforestation on the Climate and Environment."
Understanding Climate Change. Mother Earth News, 27Dec2010. Web. 25 Sep 2012.
<http://www.motherearthnews.com/understanding-climate-change/the-effect-ofdeforestation-on-the-climate-and-environment.aspx>.
Logan, Catalina. "How Does Recycling Paper Affect The Environment?."
Livestrong.com. 27Jul2010. Web. 24 Sep 2012.
<http://www.livestrong.com/article/185626-how-does-recycling-paper-affect-theenvironment/>.
Martin, Sam. "Paper Chase." Ecology.com. Ecology Global Network, 10Sept2011. Web.
25 Sep 2012. <http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/10/paper-chase/>.
Moussaoui, Younes, et al. "Influence of Physico-Chemical Treatment On The Subsequent
Biological Process Treating Paper Industry Wastewater." Water Science & Technology
66.1 (2012) 217-23. Academic Search Complete. Database. 21 Nov 2012.
"Recycling--Why Does It Matter?." Greenforestpaper.com. Soft on Nature, Soft on You,
n.d. Web. 8 Oct 2012. <http://www.greenforestpaper.com/recycling.html>.