Did you know that one piece of paper can be recycled and reprocessed up to seven times?

Did you know that the emissions from the paper industry are estimated as 7% of the world’s annual total (higher than the emissions from aviation!)?

Recycled paper has made its way into most homes and workplaces in the US, but we still have a long way to go to increase market demand for this precious resource.

Recycled Toilet Paper and Paper Towels

Here are some of the benefits of using recycled paper:

Lower CO2 Emissions than Virgin Paper

According to the Drawdown book, virgin-fiber paper emits 10.67 tons of CO2 per ton of paper, compared to 2.92 tons of CO2 for a ton recycled paper. This is due to the fact that virgin paper comes from cutting down trees and transporting the raw materials, which is more energy-intensive than recycling paper.

Why Cut Down Trees for Paper Anymore?

Less Water Usage

The production of recycled paper uses a quarter of the amount of water required for the same quantity of product. Since we know that water is becoming a more valuable resource every day, these savings are important to consider.

Save Water

Less Waste to Landfill

Worldwide only about half of paper gets recycled. That means half of the paper produced goes from a forest to a landfill. In this digital age, the amount of waste generated from not recycling paper is staggering. By providing infrastructure for paper recycling (separate bins in the home and office), we can increase the recycling rate to match places like Northern Europe (75%) and South Korea (90%).

Recycle That Paper and Keep It Out of the Landfill


Actions You Can Take Today:

Related LEED® v4 Credits:

  • LEED O+M, MRp Ongoing Purchasing and Waste Policy (required)
  • LEED O+M, MRc Purchasing – Ongoing (1 pt)