REUSE. RECYCLE
What is recycled paper and what is the main objective behind using it?
Paper recycling is the process of recovering waste paper and remaking it into new paper products. There are three categories of paper that can be used as feedstock for making recycled paper: mill broke, pre-consumer waste, and post-consumer waste.

• Pre-consumer waste is material that was discarded before it was ready for consumer use.

• Post-consumer waste is material discarded after consumer use, including OM (old magazines), OTD (old telephone directories), and RMP (residential mixed paper).

• Mill broke is paper trimmings and other paper scrap from the manufacture of paper.
SAVE TREES AND SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT. Have you read these words before?

Yes, many times. But have you done anything about it? NO. Why?
• Don’t care

• Doesn’t affect me directly

• Too lazy to go and buy it from a shop where it’s easily available

• Recycled paper looks so boring. I want to use fancy books
So much has been written and spoken about global warming being the biggest threat to the world today. We feel sad for a moment and then it’s forgotten. The world’s population is believed to be approximately 6,708,700,100. Imagine how much paper is used in our day-to-day lives!

Why recycle paper?

• By using waste paper to produce new paper, disposal problems are reduced.

• Producing recycled paper involves between 28 - 70% less energy consumption than virgin paper and uses less water. This is because most of the energy used in papermaking is the pulping needed to turn wood into paper.

• Recycled paper produces fewer polluting emissions to air (95% of air pollution) and water. Recycled paper is not usually re-bleached and where it is, oxygen rather than chlorine is usually used. This reduces the amount of dioxins, which are released into the environment as a by-product of the chlorine bleaching processes.

• Paper is a biodegradable material. This means that when it goes to landfill, as it rots, it produces methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas (20 times more potent than carbon dioxide). It is becoming increasingly accepted that global warming is a reality, and that methane and carbon dioxide emissions have to be reduced to lessen its effects.

And if you didn’t quite understand the above points, just know, that it’s ‘COOL’ to be eco-friendly these days! So if you’re not a part of the eco-friendly team, join now! I promise you two things:

1. You’ll be the coolest person around.

2. It doesn’t take much effort or money. It’s free of cost and guess what, there are unlimited seats!

Just remember. For every tonne of paper used for recycling, the savings are:

• At least 30000litres of water

• 3000 - 4000 KWh electricity (enough for an average 3 bedroom house for one year)

• 95% of air pollution



What can I do to reduce the amount of paper being wasted?

1. Try not to use as much in the first place! Use the back of sheets of paper as well as the front - look to see if that piece of paper you were going to put in the bin could be used as scrap paper for many uses. For example, to make a shopping list, to jot down your dental appointment or to leave a note for someone.

2. Buy recycled paper products wherever possible.

3. Reuse envelopes - sticky labels to cover the old address and re-seal the envelope are widely available, also made from recycled paper. Many charities sell them, so you can support them at the same time.

4. Playgroups and schools may appreciate being given odd rolls of wallpaper, or any other kind of paper, for painting on or for other uses in the classroom. They are also often glad to receive newspapers to cover the tables for craft activities.

5. When you buy a pint of milk or a soft drink, think about the container it is in. Is there an accessible recycling bank for the packaging, or might you end up throwing it away? It would be better to choose the product in the container you know you can dispose of locally for recycling.

6. Contact The Mailing Preference Service (details under further contacts) to avoid receiving unsolicited mail.

7. By putting a "no junk mail" sign by your letterbox you can cut junk mail such as pizza delivery leaflets by around 90%