paper paper paper

9 million tonnes of waste paper was produced last year.

A tonne of recycled material has fallen from £17 per tonne to £2 due to the economical downturn.

The Math;

9M x 17 = 153M
9M x 2 = 18M

153M - 18M = A grand loss of £135M..... That figure speaks for itself.

Paper & Card

There are trees that are grown for the sole purpose of one day being used for paper. We don't run out of potatoes for chips and crisps - because we grow them for demand just like trees for paper.

It could be suggested that with technology and the Internet taking a primary seat in communications, less paper is being used than before.

Research also suggests that recycling does not save trees, and that there are 3 times as many trees in the world today than we had nearly 100 years ago.


Here is a rundown of how recycling paper is counter productive to what people seem to believe.

1. Organization of unwanted paper - A task expected to be carried out by you, using up your time and energy.

2. Truck pick up - Every time a truck comes through your neighbourhood it will pollute your local area to some degree; they are normally huge vehicles as well. That truck also has to be manned and maintained - which costs you - the taxpayer.

3. Another truck pick up - once its been taken to the local depot centre it then needs to be sent to the recycling centre. Yet again think about the costs to the taxpayer and the environment.

4. Recycling Centre - This is also funded by the council, which has to be staffed.

5. Sent through a paper mill.

6. De-inked/bleached - this process pollutes the environment with its toxic fumes and green house gases.

7. Re-usable State - Any product made out of paper needs to be made with a certain amount of virgin pulp.

Verdict
Therefore not any piece of "recycled" paper can be 100%, meaning a tree would have to be sacrificed to make the paper re-usable - yes, less is used but with the pollution and over heads of staffing and maintaining all these sections it seems very expensive to maintain. Trees are being grown to replace those that are lost due to our demand. The only ones who are losing out is us.

The worth of recycling

Recycling is a great way of reusing materials which are becoming scarce and more expensive. But the real question is... How much more expensive is recycling compared to using raw materials?

Recycling is a great idea if it can be sold to those who can turn it into a new product. This idea, however, has had a huge hit recently mainly due to the financial downturn. The biggest buyers of recycled material are India and China, but they have reduced their demand for it. Recycled materials are now being stored up in warehouses and special sites across the country sitting there waiting to be sold to a buyer yet to be found. These sites are costing the taxpayer money in terms of rent and the employment of people to maintain the areas.



Daily Mail

Bullshit

My documentary was inspired by an American documentary which you can view below in three parts. It's called Penn & Teller's Bullshit - Recycling
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3