Does cutting paper usage save trees? Read the facts...

Does cutting paper usage save trees? Read the facts...

How Are Trees Grown for Paper?

Trees are planted and grown specifically to make paper. Trees that are cut down for paper production do not come from our Favorite Park or wilderness area. When some people hear about trees being cut for paper, they might think of their favorite oak in the backyard, Neighborhood Park or wilderness area being cut to pieces. They might think of birds, squirrels and other creatures being robbed of their homes. The good news is that the production and use of paper are not causing forests to disappear.

Where do trees for making paper come from?

Most trees used for paper come from forests called managed timberlands. Even though the trees in these timberlands may look like “woods,” they are an agricultural crop - like vegetables on a farm. The trees are grown to be made into products for human use. Not using paper in order to save trees is like not eating salad in order to “save” vegetables. In fact, many forests might not exist in the fi rst place if trees weren’t planted and harvested by industry. It takes from 10 - 20 years for trees to grow until they are large enough for harvesting. During that time, those trees are part of a community of plants and animals, and their environment space is known as an ecosystem. Trees provide a place to live (or habitat) for many species of plants and animals, and they add oxygen to the earth’s atmosphere.

How Are Trees Grown for Paper?

Will we run out of trees if we continue to cut them down for paper? No. More trees are planted every year than are cut down. This is due in most part to the success of managed timberlands. Whenever trees are harvested, more trees are planted to take their place. Timberlands can be managed to produce trees and forest products forever. Trees are a renewable resource. As long as we manage timberland and plant trees to replace the ones cut down, trees will continue to grow and grow and grow.

In some ways, this process is similar to growing vegetables in a garden. We plant the vegetables and let them grow until they are mature enough to harvest. When harvest time comes, we collect the vegetables and eat them. Next spring, the process begins again when we plant a new crop. As long as we continue to plant and harvest, the process goes on and on. More trees are destroyed by fire and insects than are cut down to make paper. And, on an average, when a tree is harvested for making paper, five more are planted in its place. If “saving” trees isn’t the issue, why do we want to recycle paper?

We recycle paper mainly to save landfill space.

Paper is one of the few consumer products that is fairly easy and inexpensive to recycle. It can be made into many new products including corrugated boxes, packaging, newsprint, tissue, and writing paper, among other things. Helping to reduce the amount of paper in landfills is an important task. Since each of us uses an average of 700 pounds of paper products per year, paper makes up almost a third of the material which goes into landfills.

The recycling process also produces recycled fiber, a valuable product. Countries with a plentiful supply of recycled fiber can not only use it to make their own recycled paper, they also can send it to other nations to provide them with fiber to make paper products. In this way, an old newspaper recycled in the U.S. can end up as part of a box made in Africa - quite a wise use of a tree!

Think about all the paper products you use every day. Many of these can be recycled to make other useful products. In the U.S., more paper is recycled than is sent to landfills, and more paper is recovered for recycling than all glass, aluminum, and plastics combined.

How Are Trees Grown for Paper?

Why don’t we just leave forests alone? It might be true that leaving forests totally alone is more “natural,” but it may not be more beneficial or practical. Land is either owned by governments, companies, or individuals. When companies and individuals own land, they need to put it to some use to help pay for it. Growing managed timberlands allows people to use land in a way which preserves trees. The only other way to keep the land green with trees is for government-type agencies to buy the land and maintain it as a park or wilderness area. This approach costs taxpayers money, and is often not an option because of the difficulties in acquiring the land and settling the political issues involved.

All in all, wise use of forests and the products which come from them is good for people and for trees too. Forests grow in all areas of the U.S. If these trees were all put together limb to limb, they would take up a space equivalent to one third of the country.

How do we use the wood from harvested trees?

Often, a tree is not cut down for making paper at all, but instead cut down for making boards and planks (dimensional lumber) used for buildings. Paper is then made from the leftover scraps from those sawmill operations. Almost none of the tree is wasted after it is harvested. Bark is used for fuel, and wood chemicals are extracted and used to make products such as pine solvent and cleaning agents, turpentine and gums. Because of the many uses of trees, timberlands are valuable to both nature and people. If we continue to manage our resources wisely, generations to come can look forward to a future that includes both paper and an abundance of trees.