Leave a comment / By Sergio Pons López and Pablo J. Castellanos Compaña / Seville, 5/11/2024
The choice between recycled and regular paper is not only a matter of cost or quality, but also has environmental and economic implications that deserve careful consideration. Each paper has a greater or lesser impact on the environment. In this analysis, we will compare these types of paper in order to understand which is the best option in sustainable terms.
To find out how the idea of giving paper a second life arose, we must go back to the year 1301 in Japan, when the shortage of vegetable fibers caused the Japanese to use waste paper to make a new pulp that would make it possible to generate recycled paper. The color of this paper would be gray, since the paper used was already dyed by the ink.
In 1690, in Germantown, Philadelphia (USA), paper manufacturer William Rittenhouse built the first paper recycling plant in the New World, just two years after the first such plants were established in England. However, it was the English paper manufacturer Matthias Koops who, in 1800, patented an innovative process for extracting ink from paper and converting it into pulp, which made it possible to obtain high-quality recycled paper from waste material.
Let’s take a look at the two types of paper we are going to discuss in this article.
Use of normal paper
The use of conventional paper continues to grow and accounts for 4% of the planet’s industrial GDP in the world economy. This growth is mainly due to the characteristics that differentiate it from other types of paper, such as quality and slow wear. Conventional paper has a uniform and consistent surface, which allows better printing of images and text; on the other hand, it tends to be more durable, since the cellulose fibers tend to wear out each time it goes through the recycling process.
However, the environmental impact of paper is very serious, being one of the most polluting industrial activities today, contributing significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions, as well as water pollution, waste generation, deforestation and air pollution; for every kilogram of paper, 3.3 kg of CO2 are emitted into the air, as well as methane, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, all of which contribute to global warming.
In order to manufacture paper, it is necessary to obtain virgin fiber from wood, which involves extensive deforestation; the pulp is then made and extracted through a highly polluting chemical process, these pulps have to be diluted with 100 times their weight in water, which is then pressed to reduce its volume. Finally, the sheets are dried on rollers at 100oC.
Use of recycled paper
The use of recycled paper provides us with great advantages over the use of normal paper, starting with the saving of valuable natural resources. One of the most obvious is the reduction of tree felling, since it is a recycled paper, it takes advantage of paper fibers that have been used previously recycled so it comes from other papers that have been previously used, each ton of paper that is recycled avoids cutting down about 3.14 tons of trees. This is not the only natural resource that is affected, it also benefits all the animals that live in the forests that are normally affected by the constant felling of trees.
Another resource that is considerably reduced is the use of water (savings of around 50%). This saving is achieved because recycling does not require the same intensive virgin pulp treatment and bleaching processes as new paper.
The impact of recycled paper also reaches other areas, not only in the saving of natural resources, but also in considerable energy savings. Some sources say that companies that manufacture this type of paper have around 80% energy savings.
In addition, by recycling waste paper and reincorporating it into the production cycle, the amount of paper waste and residues that end up in landfills, where they can take years to decompose, is considerably reduced. This is especially helpful in places where landfill capacity is almost at its limit.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the existence of ecological paper, which involves a different process to recycled paper, while the latter is made from previously used paper, whereas ecological paper is made from different virgin fibers, such as hemp or bamboo, which are used to create the paper pulp. The chemicals used to make recycled paper are stronger and more harmful than those used in ecological paper, although they are still much more beneficial to the environment than those used in conventional paper.
Here is a video of the paper recycling process to make recycled paper:
To conclude, although both types of paper have advantages, recycled paper stands out as the better option from an ecological perspective. Although normal paper offers certain benefits in terms of quality and durability, the negative environmental impact it generates and the pressure it puts on natural resources make it less favorable. The choice will depend on the final use of each person, but our recommendation is to use recycled paper, and if possible, ecological paper.