The real cost of paper

Sustainable Engineering Solutions

By Cecilia GuerraMay 16th, 2103

Teresa Koper

Where does the paper come from?

• The trees used to make paper in the U.S come mostly from softwood

• More than 2.3 billion tree seedlings are planted in the U.S/year to make paper

• Papyrus, which is the root of our English word paper

• The first paper merchant in America  Benjamin Franklin, 18 paper mills in Virginia and around 

Paper processForest operation

Pulp mill

Paper mill

Printing business

Final consumers

Types of paper

Some materials

o Soft woods fiberso Hard woods fiberso Tree pulpo Watero Blencho Clayo Chemicalso Inks

Carton paperWood fibers

Virgin paper Recycled paper

Technology Vs. Paper

Digital books Business agenda Publicity apps Able to read the news Emails

To Sign News paper Magazines To print out Publicity Notebooks

Has technology decreased the use of paper?Yes,…. not wrong

Some Paper uses!

Magazines

Books

News paper

Posters

Letter paper

Clean production• The production of paper creates negatively

effect at• air • water • earth and climate• Substances include air emissions and

pollutants such as:• mercury • greenhouse gas emissions• water effluent and ashes

Sites where paper is used more!

Companies (Signature)U.S. companies print 1.5 trillion pages/year=a stack of paper 95,000 mile-high, or equivalent of nearly 20 million trees

College An average of 250 pounds each student/year Copies Handouts

Paper consumption

Environmental Impact• World consumption of paper grew 400% in the last 40

years• The world consumes about 300 million tons of

paper/year• 35% of the total trees cut around the world are

used in paper industries

Let’s reduce the use of paper in order to reduce the use of soil

Solutions

References

http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/10/paper-chase/ (Ecology)

http://www.signinghub.com/datasheets/The_Real_Cost_of_Paper_based_Signatures.pdf (Paper consuption)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjOEh8vNxIc (video)

Thank You for your attention!

The goal is to reduce depletion of nonrenewable raw materials and use sustainable alternatives.