How to Recycle

• Towns, states, and regions have different methods for recycling. Some request that everything be sorted (even types of paper), while others allow everything to go in one bin. The best way to find information for a specific location is to search on the town, city or county website. Recycling requires a commitment and people who are proactive.
  
  

The Process of Recycling

• Once paper is at the recycling center, it is sorted and bound. Newspaper, office paper, corrugated cardboard and magazines are all considered different types. The bound paper is then sent to the paper mill, where it will be re-pulped. According to Paper University, re-pulped means that the machine (called the pulper) is filled with water and chemicals to break down the paper. Then it becomes pulp which is screened and cleaned to remove adhesives, staples, ink.
  
  

Recycling Paper = Conserving Energy

• According to the Environmental Protection Agency, recycling paper is important because it reduces energy needs. Making recycled paper rather than brand new paper from virgin pulp requires less energy and water consumption. The EPA says recycling one ton of paper saves enough energy to provide an average American home with electricity for six months and would save 7,000 gallons of water.
  
  

Greenhouse Gases

• The Environmental Paper Network's 2007 report states that although paper may decompose in a landfill, as it sits there it releases methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. The pulp and paper industry is the fourth largest manufacturing operation in terms of greenhouse emissions. Furthermore the report summary, page 2, states that if the United States used 10 percent less office paper, it would cut emissions by 1.6 million tons (think 280,000 cars off the road for one entire year).
  
  

The Fact of Resources

• Some people do not believe the theories of global warming, but the true environmental crisis is that natural resources diminish as more people populate the earth. This happens because more people take up more space, and the rate at which resources are consumed outpaces the rate at which they can be replenished (e.g. trees take years to grow but can be cut down in minutes). Recycling is easy, as is buying recycle paper. Every little bit counts towards preserving the earth's resources.