Earth Week 2016: How To Use Less Paper

Because trees are not uniform in size, it makes more sense to think in terms of the amount of wood rather than how many trees to make paper products:
1 roll of paper towels takes 1 cubic foot of wood
1 ton of paper uses 24 trees - a ton is 2000 pounds
1 ton of newsprint paper uses 12 trees
1 ton of magazine paper (coated and glossy) takes 15 trees

What if you recycle?
1 ton of 30% recycled paper saves 7.2 trees
1 ton of 50% recycled paper saves 12 trees

 

How can I save paper??
Here are some pretty easy solutions:

• Use every bit of a piece of paper: Back, front, sides, margins.
• Use mail that comes to you: envelopes, inserts, blank white spaces, for notes. Write a shopping list on the envelope, put coupons inside.
• Don't pick up 'free' papers such as advertising or newspapers. Look them over and put them back.
• Use a write on/wipe off board. If your notes are really important, take a picture before you wipe the board clean. 
• If you get paper copies of bills, but pay them online or on your phone, keep the return envelops and use them. Swipe a black marker over any bar codes if you're going to send something in one of these.
• Use the back, blank, sides of business letters or any other correspondence for children's drawing paper.
• Re-use the back of paper to print coupons.
• Use colorful paper for wrapping gifts. Same with boxes.

• Use paper from your shredder for...well...shreds, when you give a gift.
• Use egg cartons for small treasures such as jewelry or hair doodads.
• Use paper for crafts: Origami, papier mache, collage

Last but not least: You can bring your unwanted books to Half Price Books and get cash!!  Their stores are all over, check them out: http://b.hpb.com/068/