Facts About Office Paper Waste

As a part of my project, I dug up some information about one of the many ways paper goes to waste. As I came across these statistics, I realised how little some people choose to care about the safety of their environment when they can make a change if they want to. Offices are littered with paper because of all the faxes, memos, post-it notes, junk mail etc. It's unimaginable how much paper offices waste everyday. So much could be done with this amount of paper given that it doesn't go to waste. Here are some outrageous facts about office paper waste.

1) Typically, a business office produces about 1.5 pounds of paper waste per employee each day.

2) If employers take the appropriate steps to eliminate paper waste from their waste stream, they can cut their waste bill by 50% or more.

3) For every ton of recycled paper, upto 17 trees can be saved.

4) The paper industry plays a significant role in contributing to greenhouse gas emissions - it ranks 4th. Also, it contributes to 9% of the manufacturing sector's carbon emissions.

5) The annual worth of the New York Times newspaper weighs around 250 pounds.

6) In order to print the Sunday edition of the New York Times, it takes around 75,000 trees.

7) With all the paper wasted per year, we could construct a 12-foot-high wall of paper from New York to California.

8) The average American attorney uses upto a ton of paper each year.

9) Recycling one ton of paper could save upto 682.5 gallons of oil.

10) American buyers receive 41 pounds of junk mail each year.

11) 40% of the solid mass in landfills is composed of paper waste.

12) More than 100 million trees are cut down each year to produce junk mail.

13) Paper usage is increasing by 20% every year, with the average office employee using 50 sheets of paper every year.

We really need to get our act together and use paper wisely. I think the government should pass laws and enforce them strongly to reduce this atrocious amount of paper that goes to waste every year. For example, they could set a limit as to how much paper a certain firm can waste annually. Businesses that violate this law should be severely penalised.