SoylentNews

Freeman [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/10/does-paper-recycling-benefit-the-climate-it-depends/ [arstechnica.com]

For many people, the most familiar way to “go green” or “be eco-friendly” is probably paper recycling. (And perhaps its aging office cousin: “Consider a tree before you print this email.”) There are many ways to evaluate the environmental benefits of such actions, and one of those is greenhouse gas emissions. So how does paper recycling stack up in this regard?
[...]
A new study led by Stijn van Ewijk [yale.edu] at Yale University tries to do the math on this, using practical scenarios for the next few decades. Namely, they calculate whether increasing paper recycling would make it easier or harder to hit emissions targets that would halt global warming at 2°C.
[...]
There are no sustainability silver bullets, but this study shows that paper recycling can at least fit in the puzzle.

Nature Sustainability, 2020. DOI: 10.1038/s41893-020-00624-z [doi.org]

On a side note. Our University is going through a lot less paper, since the start of the pandemic. I'd have to look at the numbers to say much, but it was practically non-existent when we went into lockdown mode, clear through the beginning of the Fall Semester in August of this year. We've also consumed less paper since the start of the semester. I'd guess it's due to teachers having an incentive to take advantage of technologies that don't require physical contact.

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