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With the beginning of the New Year and the upcoming school term, the demand for books and other printing materials will be very high. No matter how much money it costs, the demand for these supplies will remain the same. This contributes to paper pollution, ultimately leading to a climate crisis.
Through this article, we are going to cover,
- The story of the paper industry
- Impacts of the paper industry on climate change
- Impact of Paper Recycling process on climate change
- Sustainable solutions to paper production
- Sri Lankan Concepts of Papermaking which are Sustainable/Traditional – Research Study
Introduction
Eunuch Ts’ai Lun invented paper in China during AD105, and it was made of macerated vegetable fiber. The technology of making paper moved from China to Japan and then to Korea. Mulberry bark and Gampi were the first raw materials, and later it evolved to bamboo and rice straw.
Demand for paper is highly growing at present where mills changed to using fiber from trees as wood was less expensive and more abundant than cloth. Some countries sustainably managed trees grown for the paper industry and recycled paper using renewable sources. However, some countries still cut down their ancient forests and use fossil fuels to recycle leading to climate change in more than one way.
Impacts of paper industry on climate change
The process of manufacturing paper releases nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, contributing to pollution. This results in acid rains and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which are responsible for global warming.
On the contrary, the paper industry results in deforestation. When considering global reports around 35% of trees are cut down annually to manufacture paper. Which means, 160,000km² of forest chopped down every year because of the paper industry. Accordingly, stored carbon has the potential to be released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and it leads to climate change.
9% of the trees used for paper come from ancient forests. Ancient forests are breathtaking and are highly diverse ecosystems. They play an essential role in wildlife habitat, species diversity, hydrological regimes, nutrient cycles, carbon storage, and numerous other ecological processes. Cutting down ancient forests causes the collapse of ecosystems and breaks down the balance maintained within the environment.
Let us consider the amount of papers that can be produced by one mature tree. It is estimated that a standard pine tree, with 45ft of usable trunk and a diameter of eight inches, will produce around 10,000 sheets of paper. In other words, one ream of paper (which is 500 sheets) will use 5% of a tree. RIBBlE packaging research company stated coated paper that is used for high-quality printing and magazines will require more pulp. In fact, one tone of coated magazine paper uses over 15 trees.
When focusing on the impact the paper industry has on Climate Change. MIT climate stated that a single mature tree, takes in about 50 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. According to the calculations, one tone of magazine paper production, leads to the release of 750 pounds of CO2 to the atmosphere. Which means nearly 340kg of CO2 (340.90kg) is released due to cutting down trees for only one tone of paper.
Newspaper industry is highly dependent on paper, according to MIT climate, it takes around 12 trees to create a single tone of newspaper. Which means nearly 273kg of CO2 is released back to the atmosphere to create one tone of newspaper. When you consider how many magazines and newspapers are printed and distributed across the world, it is difficult to visualize the number of trees being used which add to the climate crisis.
Impact of paper recycling on climate change
We examined several research articles, to conclude that recycling paper requires less energy than making it from scratch. Therefore, CO2 emission is comparatively low in the recycling process. However, if the recycling process uses nonrenewable energy resources such as fossil fuels it definitely leads to climate change. Accordingly, renewable energy sources should be developed to achieve sustainable development goals.
Recycling causes 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution compared the manufacture of new paper. Recycling a tonne of newspaper also eliminates 3m³ of landfill. Read more here Archived
Paper decomposition and greenhouse gas emission
As paper decomposes, it produces methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. Hence, it seems that recycling paper is still much better than producing it from fresh pulp.
“Our study shows that recycling is not a guaranteed way to address climate change. Recycling of paper may not be helpful unless it is powered by renewable energy. We looked at global averages, but trends may vary considerably in different parts of the world” said Dr Stijn van Ewijk, Study Lead Author, UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources and Yale Center for Industrial Ecology.
A new modeling study shows that by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions would increase if more paper were recycled due to the usage of fossil fuels. Nature Sustainability research study shows that, if all wastepaper were recycled, emissions could increase by 10%. Recycling is one of the easiest things consumers can do to tread lighter on the planet. However, it depends on the material being recycled and the energy source used to do so.
Sustainable solutions to paper production
When considering Sri Lanka, the average annual paper production is 0.025 in Million Metric Tons. Additionally, billions and trillions of papers are producing worldwide. Hence, a sustainable solution is vital to overcome the negative impacts on the environment.
Paper made of elephant dung
An adult elephant produces up to 200kg of dung per day. Moreover, the production of elephant dung paper uses less energy, water, and produces lower carbon emissions compared to manufacturing process used for wood pulp.
As elephants are herbivores, the waste they produce is essentially raw cellulose. Once the dung has been collected, it’s boiled with Margosa (Azadirachta indica) leaves, a natural disinfectant. After sterilization it’s mixed with recycled paper to produce a smoother surface. Normally around 75% dung and 25% recycled paper is used for the manufacturing process.
Recycled Cotton
Fabric waste is one of the leading causes for landfill waste, which increases each year due to the fast fashion industry. It takes 200 years to biodegrade hence, making cotton paper is a great way to divert millions of tons of landfill waste each year.
Reclaimed Straw
Straw is a byproduct of wheat farming and agricultural activities. Straw-based paper is made by reclaiming scrapped straw and wheat which eliminates the need for burning crops to prepare the field for the next cycle in turn reducing CO2 emissions.
To transform straw into pulp, straw does not need to be pressurized like wood, which saves an enormous amount of energy. The production of straw paper requires 25% less water and 70% less energy than traditional paper.
Sustainable Traditional Sri Lankan Concepts of Papermaking – Research Study
Sri Lanka has very interesting traditional methods of eco-friendly paper production. We discussed this with the Senior Professor, Chandana Abeyrathna, from theUniversity of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.
Senior Professor Abeyrathna stated that, in the ancient times, Sri Lankans did not cut down trees for paper production. The only part of the tree used were leaves or branches. The very first usage of herbal material for writing purpose goes back to the times of King, Walagamba.
The first written evidence in Sri Lanka was of King Walagamba who wrote on a piece of “Kethaki paper” and worshiped the temple at the time of construction of the Abhayagiri Pagoda. “Kethaki paper” means False pineapple leaves which is scientifically known as Pandanus kaida and “Watakeyya” plant in Sinhala.
False pineapple Leaves are linear, prickled pale greenish, while stiffly erect or abruptly bent. Trunk is tree-like when not pruned with prop-roots. False pineapple can be found in river/stream banks and paddy field bunds. Accordingly, Sri Lankans started writing on these papers at the outset. Here only the leaves were used, and they did not harm the tree. Senior Professor Abeyrathna says. This process did not cause Carbon emission.
Corypha umbraculifera “Thala” is another diversely used plant for writing purposes. Either leaves or part of a trunk called “Thala gobaya” was used. This can weaken the plant but the plant will not die. Plants recover from this temporarily weakness within several weeks’ gaining back the original physical shape. Additionally, Thal plant, Borassus flabellifer is used in the Jaffna region for writing purposes. He also said that it was believed, different parts of the coconut tree may have been used for short-term writing.
Currently, trees are being cut on a large scale to create paper and contribute to global warming. In addition, 9% of the trees in ancient forests cut down annually for paper production. This is a very sad situation. Therefore, traditional methods used in Sri Lanka are a worthy sustainable method for mitigate global warming cause from paper industry.
Senior Professor Abeyrathna explained, that six or more books can be prepared using one “thala goba” (part of a trunk). There is evidence that these plants were used on a large scale in Sri Lanka for writing the Pali Canon known as the “Tripitaka”, which is the most sacred scripture for Buddhists all over the world. This happened in 29 BC, approximately 454 years after the death of Gautama Buddha. They can still be read hence, you can imagine the longevity of these compared to paper found today.
In fact, there is a reason for this. The Senior Professor Abeyrathna said that special methods were used to reduce the damage caused by insects and other animals. One method was that the traditional people considered the location and size of the moon before cutting the branches or leaves. They believed that when the size of the moon is changes, the arrival of insects also changes. It appears that those methods were successful because they survived for centuries with minimum damage.
Senior Professor Abeyrathna explained another method, which is when preparing these papers for writing, first it is boiled and special leaves were inserted to the boiling basket like pineapple, a natural disinfectant. This leads to the protection of the palm leaves from insects like ants and termites. Currently, various chemicals are used for this purpose around the world. Senior Professor Ariya Lagamuva also stated that many leaves were used for this purpose including Crotolaria retusa, Croton lacciferus (Keppatiya) and Avexrhoa bilimbi (Bilin).
Senior professor, Ariya Lagamuva stated that according to his research data, several factors affect the attractiveness and durability of paper prepared from palm leaves.
- Humidity and occurrence of fungus.
- Changes in fiber composition of leaves
- Changes in flexibility over time
It has also been confirmed through his research that traditionally prepared palm leaf manuscripts contains the following components.
- Carbohydrate – 33%
- Fiber – 35%
- Protein -14%
- Fatty acid – 4%
- Wood ash – 7%
This means that no chemicals are included in the paper and before the manufacturing process it does not release any greenhouse gas which makes it a very ecofriendly method.
In a Nutshell
At present trees are cut down in large scale to produce paper worldwide, which releases CO2, leading to global warming. Moreover, the paper–manufacturing process releases nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to pollution. Recycling paper is a good solution but the energy source used should be a renewable source to mitigate climate change. Elephant dung, reclaimed straw and recycled cotton are sustainable solutions on top of everything, Sri Lankan Traditional concepts such as palm leave manuscripts, Thal path is totally ecofriendly because it had the least harm on the planet. Natural disinfectants and many techniques were used to preserve those papers without releasing any GHGs. It is important to reuse traditional methods to mitigate climate change caused by the paper industry.
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