subject: Printable Paper: No Reason Not To Recycle [print this page] Printable Paper: No Reason Not To Recycle
The idea of "going green," i.e. pushing a conserving-recycling lifestyle has become a trendy game-plan in the past half-dozen years, and a trend certainly worth backing. In fact, recycling things like cans, bottles, paper, and even cardboard is now not just recommended, but required in many states and counties across America, and this requirement finds little dissent amongst the masses. It is seemingly impossible to find someone who will state that recycling is a bad thing... and for good reason. After all, clich or not, this is the only planet we have.
However, while very few individuals or organizations would publically come out against the idea of recycling such basic items as printable paper, there does appear to be an underground propaganda campaign being spread through myths and rumors that would steer individuals away from a recycling agenda. It is the purpose of this article to help debunk some of these rumors and commonly-held beliefs that would lead you to resist recycling printable paper.
Myth Number 1) Recycling printable paper actually requires more bleach than virgin paper, and is therefore more damaging to the environment. This is a blatant misunderstanding, as very little bleach (if any) is used for recycled printable paper. And when, on the rarest of occasions, it is used, it's almost always a chlorine-free style bleach, which causes barely a fraction of the environmental damage that chlorine-based bleach causes.
In most cases, the ink in the paper is removed by "de-inking," a process that uses bubbles to collect the ink in a manner that can be skimmed off the top. This material is commonly used as a soil conditioner. So the truth of Myth Number One is that recycling printable paper actual creates soil enhancers, which actually helps the environment, as opposed to hurting it.
Myth Number 2) It's better for used printable paper to be incinerated than recycled. This rumor is based on the idea that burning paper is actually used to create energy. However, the amount of energy created by printable paper incineration is relatively minuet, and it is incomparable to the amount of energy that is saved by recycling paper. The average paper fiber can be recycled over a dozen times before the fibers become too microscopic to be recycled any more, and the resources and energy being saved by recycling the paper outweighs the resources and energy that is created by incinerating it.
Myth Number 3)Recycling printable paper products is actually environmentally damaging. How could this possibly be true? By re-using rather than consuming we are somehow damaging the environment? The truth is actually the exact opposite. Recycling paper offers a plethora of advantages, including (but not limited to) less bleaching, less pollutants, less usage of natural resources, less waste to dispose of, and more benign pollutants.
