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Paper paradox
Contributed by: Hannah Smith on 1/31/2008

One ream of Office Max brand virgin paper costs $3.99. One ream of recycled Office Max paper costs $7.99.

Do the math: the recycled paper costs twice as much as the virgin paper.

On average, recycled paper costs seven to ten percent more than comparable virgin papers, according to Conservatree, a California environmental organization.

Something seems wrong with this, if you ask me. Recycled items are someone else's trash, for heaven's sake! Therefore, such items should be cheaper, right? After all, if an environmentally conscious person didn't care enough to recycle his or her paper, the paper would be sitting in a landfill right about now, and there wouldn't be any recycled paper.

It's a paradox. A seemingly contradictory phenomenon that might actually hold true.

According to Conservatree, "Making recycled paper should technically be no more expensive than making virgin [paper]."

However, it is.

Virgin paper is produced on larger, more commercial machines than recycled paper. If virgin paper mill owners choose to produce recycled paper, they must pay to "retrofit," or add new features and capabilities to, their machines.

So, producing recycled paper does cost more than producing virgin paper. But for a stupid reason.

Conservatree also acknowledged, "Paper marketers know that buyers are used to higher prices for recycled paper and therefore may not price it as competitively as possible," which I believe to be the real reason for the outrageous price.

According to the laws of supply and demand, if more people start buying recycled paper, its price will be reduced.

However, you can still conserve paper without purchasing the recycled kind. Try using the back sides of paper. Use both sides of your paper when you print documents and save paper with writing on one side for use as scratch paper. Once you've used every inch of the paper, throw it in a recycle bin.

Buying "green" paper may cost a little bit more green, but it does help the environment.

"One ton of recycled paper uses: 64% less energy, 50% less water, [creates] 74% less air pollution, saves 17 trees and creates 5 times more jobs than one ton of paper products from virgin wood pulp," according to the recycling program at the University of Colorado.

Our future is at stake. So, we must all do what we can to conserve the resources we have and ensure our planet's sustainability.


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Showing 1 of 1 comments
Submitted By: Michael Rule
posted on 2/3/2008 @ 8:37:15 AM
Rated Story
When the market dictates cheaper cost, it will be.
[Report as objectionable]
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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Hannah Smith

Morrison , CO

Hannah Smith has posted 32 stories and 1 comment since joining on 10/10/2006. Hannah Smith 's average story rating is 4.98.
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