What kind of impact does paper-making have on the environment

Negative environmental impacts occur at three stages in the life cycle of paper, beginning with the harvesting of trees for fiber, continuing with the processing of wood fiber into pulp for making paper, and finishing with the disposal of paper products at the end of their useful life. The above diagram illustrates this life cycle for an optimal context, in which virgin fiber comes from sustainably managed forests and recycling “closes the loop” by re-pulping old paper to manufacture new. Not only does this way of making paper save trees and forests, but it also reduces waste in landfills, thereby eliminating emissions of methane gas from decomposing paper. Click here to learn more about the benefits of recycling and of sustainably managed forests. Unfortunately, this environmentally preferable scenario applies to only some of the paper products manufactured. An increasing but still small amount of virgin fiber comes from sustainably managed forests, and many grades of paper contain far less recycled content than they could.