Recycle 1lb of printer paper
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Description
35 cu in of paper weighs 1lb. If you have a box of paper to recycle, but no scales, you can use this to work out the weight of the paper from the valume of the box.
About 4 billion trees are cut down each year for the use of paper. Trees are very important in removing CO2 from the atmosphere. "A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48lbs./ year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support 2 humans.” – carboncontrol.org
Tags
- glass
- paper
- printer paper
- recyclables
- recycle
- recyclemania
Assumptions We Made
We assumed that one sheet of printer paper is 8.5x11in and that 500 sheets weigh 5lbs. The calculations are based on the EPA’s iWARM model which calculates how much energy is saved when items are recycled instead of placed in a landfill. The energy is expressed in terms of the electricity that could be produced by the fuel saved in the production process. CO2 calculations subsequently are calculated based on a conversion from www.carbonfund.org where 1.297 lbs CO2 are generated when 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity is produced.
The model also assumes that a 100% recycled product replaces a product made of 100% virgin materials. This is typically not the case as the product is usually composed of virgin materials mixed with recycled materials.
For more information, please visit the EPA’s iWARM model page: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/tools/iwarm/index.htm
Impacts
Initial Impacts
Each time you carry out this action, the immediate impacts are:
- Saves 0.56 lbs of CO2
Ongoing Impacts
Some actions also have additional impact over time. For this action, these are:
- Unknown
Potential Annual Impact
We assume that this action will be carried out weekly (about 52 times a year). In this case, in a year you could save:- 29.12 lbs of CO2
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