It’s scary really.
Rainforests used to cover abour 14% of our world. Now Rain-Tree estimates that they cover only 6%.
Why? Because in the world of development and “progress”, they are only considered as valuable as the timber enclosed within the forest.
We are still using trees at an alarming rate. Although there has been true progress in finding other options for paper products in particular, we still buy the ones from the trees, and to make those they take wood from the forests.
I used to think that trees, as a natural resource, could be replanted, and therefore it was OK to use them for anything and everything. (I do think that replanting should be a requirement). But I have since realized that trees take many years (about 30) to grow to the point where they are valuable-and the rate of growth does not keep up with the rate that we cut them.
Here are some alternatives to using trees for paper. I hope that you will consider purchasing and supporting the companies who make products from tree alternatives. If we don’t buy the ones made from trees-they won’t make them. Period.
- Recycled Paper-Look for companies with green processes. Less chemicals are used for them.
- Hemp- Regrows in abotu15 months.
- Kenaf- A high-yield plant that grows extremely well.
- Agricultural By-Products- According to Information Distillery, paper is also made from agricultural byproducts left over from the harvesting and processing of sugar cane, bananas, coffee, tobacco, lemons, and other fibres.
- Elephant Dung- Yes, it sounds weird. But it is viable and it doesn’t even smell.
Julie Bonn Heath is a freelance writer, author and public relations/marketing professional who has three kids, four pets and lives on the Oregon Coast. Follow Julie on Twitter.
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Those are actually great alternatives for papers. In this way, we do not have to always utilize newly-manufactured paper products. What happens to all the used papers in homes and offices? This is the question that we should be concerned about. We need to learn to be more practical and maximize the uses of paper. We can reuse or have our papers shredded to be used for other purposes.
I do hope that this idea becomes widespread so that the awareness regarding reusing and recycling paper products become widespread. As other paper products
gets recycled, others are used for crafts like that of shredded paper.
I really enjoy paperless billing, and companies that are choosing to implement this practice. Bringing awareness to this issue is so important. It’s wasteful and a bad practice to use paper products, switching to paper alternatives helps promote a healthier and greener planet.