We certainly are. A few years ago, there was a great deal of hype about the advent of the paperless office but we are using more pieces of paper in the office and out of it every year. In the last 40 years, paper usage has grown by over 400 per cent.
Nearly 4 billion trees worldwide are cut down each year for paper, and this represents about 35 per cent of all harvested trees. A lot of the trees that are used for paper making are grown specifically for that purpose but demand is still in danger of outstripping supply.
People in the United States use the most paper of any country in the world, using up over 300 kilograms of paper every year for every person. The total is over 90 billion kilograms per year for the whole country, which is a lot of paper. Some is recycled but a lot just ends up in landfills as waste, compounding the environmental impact of paper over-use.
Nearly 4 billion trees worldwide are cut down each year for paper, and this represents about 35 per cent of all harvested trees. A lot of the trees that are used for paper making are grown specifically for that purpose but demand is still in danger of outstripping supply.
People in the United States use the most paper of any country in the world, using up over 300 kilograms of paper every year for every person. The total is over 90 billion kilograms per year for the whole country, which is a lot of paper. Some is recycled but a lot just ends up in landfills as waste, compounding the environmental impact of paper over-use.