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Recycled Paper Vs Virgin Paper

2nd December 2022

Virgin paper, in simple terms, refers to the paper manufactured from new wood pulp. Recycled paper, on the other hand, reuses discarded paper which gets turned into recycled pulp and fibre. 

To understand the differences between the two and assess which paper is ideal for your usage, it is important to look at the life-cycle and benefits of each a little more in detail.

Differences in the Life-cycle of Virgin Paper and Recycled Paper

The primary difference is in the fact that virgin paper requires the felling of trees since it is manufactured from wood pulp. This poses several environmental challenges due to the loss of natural resources and the erosion of topsoil. Moreover, when a tree trunk is converted into pulp, there is a release of the stored CO2 into the atmosphere - leading to a high carbon footprint for manufacturing virgin paper.

Once manufactured, the virgin paper is then distributed, used and discarded. Instead of being recycled, most of it gets dumped into landfills where it then bio-degrades and releases methane into the atmosphere. Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas, and is 23 times more harmful for the environment as compared to CO2. 

In contrast, when recycling paper, there is no new release of stored CO2 associated with turning wood into pulp. Moreover, the energy needed to convert paper back into pulp is less than what is required to process virgin pulp. Therefore, virgin paper requires more energy and is more harmful to the environment when compared to recycled paper. 

Which Paper to Pick? The Need for Virgin Paper

This question does not have a definitive answer for several reasons:

  • There can be no recycled paper without virgin paper.

  • As a natural fiber, paper has a limited lifecycle. It can only be recycled up to five or seven times before the fibers break down and can no longer be used. It would then have to be burned for bioenergy.

  • Some paper is never or rarely recycled. This includes photos, official documents such as birth certificates and diplomas, textbooks and other important or sentimental papers.

  • Some manufactured paper products cannot even be recycled to create new paper - products such as bathroom tissue, some food packaging, pet bedding, construction materials, etc.

For these reasons, there will always be a need for virgin paper. 

Moreover, it is also important to consider the end-use before selecting the paper to be used. Virgin paper is more suitable for applications that require higher strength, higher whiteness and greater durability.

One such example is office printing. Recycled fibre is shorter in length and is more susceptible to breakage and curl in office paper applications. More fibres would therefore be needed to achieve the same strength properties as office paper from virgin fibre. This, in turn, would increase the weight of the paper. 

However, with great research and innovation in the recycled paper industry, recycled paper is now available in a range of whiteness - from natural brown to a bright white shade!

The Sustainability Aspect

The use of recycled paper has been scientifically endorsed by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), WWF and Greenpeace. This is because recycled paper is the greenest option currently available. It uses less energy, water, and produces lower carbon emissions, while reducing the amount of landfill waste at the same time.

  • Recycling reduces CO2 emissions by about 20 percent compared to incinerating waste paper.

  • The process of creating recycled paper uses about 31 percent less energy than the creation of virgin fibre paper.

  • Producing a tonne of recycled paper requires 35,000 fewer litres of water than producing one tonne of virgin fibre paper.

  • It takes 1.2 tonnes of recycled fibres to produce 1 tonne of recycled paper, while it takes 2.5 tonnes of wood to make 1 tonne of virgin fibre paper.

Conclusion

Though one cannot disregard the need for virgin paper, at the end of the day, recycled paper offers great environmental benefits and sustainability that simply cannot be overlooked. It is not only more energy efficient but also protects forests and reduces environmental degradation in general.


Join us on our mission to promote sustainability & save our planet. Switch to Rescript’s Recycled Notebooks & Stationery Now!


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