Recycled paper or virgin paper

The significance of recycling paper?

·      Paper is biodegradable, therefore has the capability of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms and thereby avoiding pollution.

·      The use of recycled paper helps to conserve natural resources

·      Using recycled paper saves energy, for paper to be recycled uses less energy than the creation of virgin paper

·      Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced when recycled paper is used

·      recycling paper reduced the amount of rubbish transported to landfills and allows room for other rubbish of which cant be recycled to take its place

·      even though paper is biodegradable it will eventually produce methane gases which are greenhouse gases, therefore is it is recycled rather than put into landfills the production of this chemical is reduced.

·      The act of recycling paper is vital, the paper we use comes from the types of trees that absorb carbon dioxide, which humans exhale into the atmosphere. If we were to only use virgin paper, not only would more energy be used in the production of new paper there would be less trees to soak up the carbon dioxide therefore it is essential that we use as little trees as possible from the environment to conserve the resources. It is important to replenish the trees; replanting initiatives and legislation are helping the environment. Without the trees this carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere contributing to global warming and climate change. 

kWhat is methane gas?

·      Methane is a colourless gas

·      At low concentrations it is odourless (it has a sweet smell at high concentrations)

·      At mixtures more than about 5-15% in air, it is explosive

·      It has a lifetime of around ten years because it is only very gradually destroyed by other chemicals in air

·      Methane is one of a group of chemicals known as the volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

·      It is produced both naturally and from man's activities

How does methane gas effect the environment

The main impact of methane is on a global scale, as a greenhouse gas. Although levels of methane in the environment are relatively low, its high "global warming potential" (21 times that of carbon dioxide) ranks it amongst the worst of the greenhouse gases.

Methane does not contribute significantly to the formation of ground level ozone or photochemical smog’s.

http://www.rother.gov.uk/article/4475/Why-do-we-have-to-recycle-Paper

http://apps.sepa.org.uk/spripa/Pages/SubstanceInformation.aspx?pid=65

http://environment.about.com/od/recycling/a/The-Benefits-Of-Paper-Recycling-Why-Recycle-Paper.htm

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http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/paper/paper.htm