Recycling paper is not difficult to do and provides various benefits, however, most of us still do not do it often enough – if at all. What follows is a review of some of the benefits on offer. After reading through them, hopefully you will be more aware of the importance of recycling at least some of the paper that you use.

- As paper is made from trees, the less paper we use the less trees have to be cut down. The effect of cutting down trees is devastating on the environment. Whole ecosystems can come to an end as a result of just part of a forest being cut down. Therefore, recycling paper saves many animals and a lot of plant-life. There is also the visual impact that deforestation to consider. Google the term ‘deforestation’ and see for yourself what a stain excessively cutting down trees leaves on our planet.

- 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.

- Recycling paper means water consumption is reduced (1 ton of recycled paper can save over 6500 gallons of water) and less electricity is used (more than 400 kilowatt hours are saved by recycling 1 ton of paper). It also helps reduces our dependence on oil. Saving 2 barrels per ton of recycled paper really makes a difference in the long term.

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Thankfully, paper is not a difficult material to recycle, and there are excellent benefits for the environment when the procedure is completed. Once paper is collected by your local authority or recycling management company, it is then taken to a paper mill, a factory devoted to creating sheets of paper from ingredients such as old magazines, newspapers, used envelopes etc.

The first thing that happens at the paper mill is the turning of the scrap paper into pulp. The recycled paper is then screened, cleaned and de-inked through a number of processes until it is found suitable for papermaking. The final stage of the paper recycling process is for the pulp to be turned back into rolls of paper, which can then be used for newspapers, toilet rolls, etc.

So, now that you know how simple the recycling process for paper is, lets look at benefits that it brings…

Saves Trees – The less brand new (referred to as ‘virgin’) paper that is needed, the less trees have to be cut down. Vast areas have already been ruined as a direct of deforesting for paper, and this needs to stop as by doing so we are unbalancing eco-systems and the atmosphere.

Wildlife Preservation – More often than not, the wildlife that lives in the trees that are cut down to make ‘new’ paper, die quickly because they cannot adapt to living anywhere else. Recycling paper means that they can die natural deaths instead of forced ones.

Saves Space – Recycling paper reduces space in landfills. 1 ton of recycled paper made from scraps can save 3 cubic yards.

Less Pollution – Burning paper in waste incinerators pumps masses of pollution into the air. That means that we are unnecessarily causing the air that we all breathe to be of a lower quality.

Creates Jobs – Recycling paper is good for communities. Someone has to actually do all that recycling which means more jobs are created. With the global recession in full swing this is a welcome side effect of recycling paper.

Paper Logs – Many people are now turning to paper logs as a supplementary fuel source. Consisting of tightly compressed briquettes of paper, these logs can be thrown on a fire or used in a wood burner to provide heat for free.

Cheaper Paper – Everyone likes to save money and recycled paper is often cheaper than ‘new’ paper. Over the course of a life-time, you could save yourself well over a thousand dollars by opting for the recycled versions of the paper products that you regularly buy.

http://www.paperlogmaker.org.uk is a website dedicated to the recycling of paper. At their site you can find out what a paper log maker is and how it can help you recycle paper.