By Meredith Maihi:
As the population is growing, more wood pulp is needed to meet the demand for paper. As wood pulp comes from trees, this can result in the loss of valued ecosystems and habitats. If recycling paper becomes a behaviour at WSU Kingswood we are directly benefitting the environment.
Using recycled paper to produce new paper reduces the number of trees cut down for wood pulp, conserving natural resources. By repurposing waste paper, waste disposal is reduced. The savings to the environment are at least 30,000L of water (which would have been used for wood pulping), 3000-4000kW of energy and up to 95% of air pollution for every one tonne used for recycling paper. Recycling paper also produces minor pollutants to the air and water as compared to making virgin paper. Also, if the paper is of a high quality, it can be recycled up to seven times before losing its strong fibres.
The solution is simple. Placing accessible and convenient paper/cardboard recycling bins within the library, selected tutorial rooms and lecture theatres at the WSU Kingswood Campus can turn paper recycling attitudes into an ongoing behaviour. Placing them close to general waste bins will encourage this ongoing behaviour, as students are not going out of their way to find a place to recycle their paper/cardboard as it is convenient for them.
Every piece of paper you recycle is directly benefitting the environment.
Find the petition on change.org.
image: Etringita
