November 2013

1. RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PAPER WASTE Ryan Skaria, Islam El Manyaka-Fiky, Benjamin Ogonek, NijatAsadli November 2013

2. Agenda Overview of the problem How our paper is produced Quantifying our paper waste Potential solutions

3. Overview of the issue • This presentation will look at our everyday consumption of paper at the residential and commercial levels • To do this, we must first see how the US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) defines and characterizes paper waste • Paper is a non-hazardous waste, and thus falls under the definition of Municipal Solid Waste (“MSW”) • Essentially, this is what we refer to as trash or garbage; everyday items we use and throw away: • Product packaging • Bottles • Food scraps • Newspapers • Appliances • Paper • This type of standard waste generally comes from our homes, businesses, schools, hospitals etc.

4. Over the past decade total MSW waste levels have levelled off, while per capita waste have shown a downward trend MSW Generation Rates Per Capita Generation (lbs/person/day) Total MSW Generation (mm tons) Source: EPA MSW Report 2011

5. How much paper do we consume? Paper Waste in Perspective Total MSW Generation Breakdown, 2011 Total MSW Recovery, 2011 28% 52.8% Source: EPA MSW Report 2011 • Paper makes up 28% of what Americans throw away, more than any other material on an everyday basis • This amounts to 70.1 million tons per year • Or 1.2 pounds per day, 449.7 pounds per year • An additional note: A year’s worth of New York Times newspaper weighs 520 pounds alone • This equates to the weight of two bull sharks, or two wild boars • A standard letter-sized paper is 1/100 lb, meaning the average American consumes 50,000 sheets of paper per year! • However, paper recycling has been going on since mid 19th century Europe saw an increased demand for books, and today represents an organized and mature industry • We can see this below, where ~50% of all recycled garbage is paper

6. How recycling helps – the numbers • Overview • On the residential side, the primary products we consume are magazines, newspapers, printing paper, and textbooks or books • The commercial side is much more intensive in consumption • The American financial industry alone produces 730 pounds of paper per employee a year • 1 ton of recycled paper saves around 17 trees • This is equivalent to 2,200 pounds of paper, or 3-4 years worth of consumption • That means we each cut down almost 5 trees per year! • Source: EPA Municipal Solid Waste Report 2011, iD2 Communications Report 2010 • Job creation • Average paper usage 30 jobs to collect paper Every 15,000 tons of recycled newsprint creates… 40 jobs to process the paper 75 jobs to manufacture newsprint California New York The average American uses around 465 trees to create a lifetime of paper… … Enough to create a 12 foot high wall of paper across the country

7. Agenda Overview of the problem How our paper is produced Quantifying our paper waste Potential solutions

8. Where our paper comes from, and how it pollutes • What goes into making a virgin ton of paper? • A Typical Pulp And Paper Mill • Upstream Initiatives To Reduce Pollution Bleaching • This is the process which turns raw paper into the standard white color we are used to seeing • A move to creating totally chlorine free (“TFC”) paper has helped reduce water pollutants Mechanical Pulp • This is the type of pulp used to produce newspapers • The process of creating mechanical pulp does not bleach the end product, creating significantly less toxic chemicals

9. Agenda Overview of the problem How our paper is produced Quantifying our paper waste Potential solutions

10. Quantifying our own impact • To quantify our own impact, we created a measured average estimate using our four group members as a sample of the average student • We then measured our consumption over a one month estimated period • A 500 sheet package of paper weighs around 5 pounds • So 1,805 sheets x 12 = 21,660 sheets of paper per year, divided by 500 = 43.3 packages of paper per year, or 216.6 pounds per year • This is significantly below the average US per capita consumption of 500 pounds per year • We attribute this discrepancy to the heavy weight that commercial business consumption likely has on total consumption • Commentary Note: Delivery packaging uses cardboard, which is generally estimated to equal 10 sheets of waste paper equivalent, so the sides of each package were multiplied by a factor of four. i.e.. 6 sides to a package, multiplied by 10 equals 60 sheets of waste paper equivalent

11. Quantifying our own impact (cont’d) • The next step was to figure out how our consumption was personally impacting the environment • To do this, we figured out our pounds used per annum and applied the numbers to an advanced waste calculator on www.cenvironmentalpaper.org Note: Pounds used calculated by multiplying our percentage usage by our total usage

12. Overview: our consumption in relative terms • To put our consumption in relative terms, in one year we consume… 22 three-month old babies worth of solid waste A wild boar’s worth of paper, which amounts to… Six and a half sea turtles of greenhouse gases (lbs CO2 equiv.) And 33,632 cups of water

13. Agenda Overview of the problem How our paper is produced Quantifying our paper waste Potential solutions

14. How can we reduce our consumption? Going Online – Tablets • An idea that immediately sprung to mind for us were the advent of the tablet and smartphone industries • Reading on computer screens is difficult for some people, however Amazon’s Kindle uses an E Ink electronic paper display, making the reading experience much more akin to reading a book • The Kindle, starting at US$69, has the potential to create a huge reduction in our paper usage Mobile Subscriptions • Registering for online subscriptions and opting out of physical newspaper deliveries • Generally, the development of newspaper apps has created a more fluid and comfortable reading experience • In terms of cost, mobile subscriptions are generally cheaper • NYTimes Print: US$8.75/month • NYTimes Online: US$3.75/month Resale of Textbooks • Something we mostly do already due to the high initial cost Recycling Programs • Several recycling programs exist wherein you can personally recycle mail • The USPS has developed a program wherein “mixed paper” (ie. Mail) can be deposited at Post Office locations for recycling • Initiatives to reduce our personal usage Note: Delivery packaging uses cardboard, which is generally estimated to equal 10 sheets of waste paper equivalent, so the sides of each package were multiplied by a factor of four. i.e.. 6 sides to a package, multiplied by 10 equals 60 sheets of waste paper equivalent

15. How can we reduce our consumption? (cont’d) • Case Study: Junk Mail • Over 100 billion pieces of junk mail are produced each year • Around 30% of all mail delivered globally • Each US household received 848 pieces of junk mail per year, which required 6.5 million tons of paper to produce • This takes more than 100 million trees to produce • Or the equivalent of clear-cutting the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every four months! • Incentives to Reduce Junk Mail • Greenhouse Gas Emissions Taxes • The government could impose a tax on outgoing mail to unregistered recipients, thus making it more expensive for businesses to send out junk mail Email • Initiatives to encourage advertisers to switch to email could also reduce the impact of physical junk mail 6.5 million tons of paper used to create junk mail… …Equal to lbs CO2 emissions equivalent to 3.7 million cars per year