Did you know that the color green:
- Was George Washington’s favorite color?
- Evokes a feeling of abundance and is associated with peace and security?
- Was adopted in the 20th century as the color for St. Patrick’s Day over the original color, blue?
- Is related to the Old English word “grene,” the term for the color of most living plants due to the chlorophyll they contain?
- Is a dominant color in nature and therefore is used for environmental awareness?
How Paper Use Affects Our Green Planet
These important facts indicate how important it is to focus on our use of paper:
- Instead of decreasing, global paper use has increased 400% in the last 40 years.
- The average American uses more than 700 pounds of paper annually, the highest per-capita paper usage in the world.
- 40% of all waste in the US is paper-based.
- Pulp and paper is the United States’ third-largest cause of air, water, and land pollution, releasing over 100 million kilograms of toxic pollution annually.
- The US cuts down about 36 million trees annually to produce paper products.
- About 1 billion trees’ worth of paper are thrown away each year in the US.
- Discarded paper and paperboard make up about 26% of solid municipal waste in landfill sites
How Electronic Storage Affects the Environment
Electronics can include hard drives, thumb drives, computers, laptops, cell phones, fax machines, printers, and much more. E-waste is considered hazardous waste containing toxic substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and beryllium. Some components contain valuable metals including gold, silver, or palladium that can be retrieved. Electronics should not be placed in recycling bins or trash cans, but should be taken to a reputable shredding company who will properly destroy and recycle them to protect your information, avoid polluting the soil and groundwater, and salvage precious materials.
How Recycling Protects the Earth
Trees absorb and store carbon dioxide. Trees capture rainwater and reduce the risk of natural disasters such as floods and landslides. They also support the lives of many large organisms. They are used for food, shelter, and sites for reproduction. Animals use trees for resting, nesting and hunting.
Paper recycling is a considerable benefit to green initiatives. More than 50 million tons of paper were recycled in 2021. This protects trees from being cut down for paper manufacturing. Every ton of recycled paper saves approximately:
- 3 Cubic Yards of Landfill Space
- 17 Trees
- 9 Barrels of Oil
- 650 kWh of Electricity
- 60 Pounds of Air Pollutants
- 7,000 Gallons of Water
How to Be More Green
- Use less paper whenever possible. Choose paperless billing, don’t print documents that can be stored or shared digitally, subscribe to digital magazines, etc.
- Reuse paper. Instead of tossing blank or cut sheets of paper, reuse them for note taking or crafts.
- Recycle paper. By recycling all of the paper you discard, you will limit the amount of paper going to landfill.
- Buy recycled paper products. This makes recycling sustainable and contributes to a green earth.
- Partner with a professional shredding company. If you use the services of a shredding company that recycles 100% of the paper they shred, you can be sure that your documents and electronics are securely destroyed and kept out of the landfill.
CI Information Management offers NAID AAA Certified paper shredding and hard drive, media and tape destruction to businesses and residents of Southeastern and Central Washington and Northeastern Oregon. We recycle our shredded material to maintain a beautiful, green planet. For more information, call and speak with our friendly experts at 509-586-6090 or complete the form on this page.
