Hobbies And Interests
Saving the Planet
One argument against recycling paper is that the process of recycling does not necessarily decrease the usage of trees to make paper. Still, most paper products are made from conifer and eucalyptus trees that are grown out of their natural habitats in countries like Spain and Brazil. Though newspapers are often recycled, it is difficult to recycle paper into high-quality products, such as the kinds of paper used in offices and schools, meaning that trees are still being cut down.
Contaminated Paper
Though paper is often recycled, it may sometimes be thrown in with other garbage during transportation or storage. This contaminates the paper, especially newspaper, making it moldy or otherwise unusable. It is not economical to recycle contaminated paper, so the paper must be thrown out.
Chemicals
Paper must go through a lengthy recycling process before it can be reused and put on the market again. Part of this process involves the use of chemicals that are often considered hazardous to consumers and to the environment. Because recycled paper usually comes out speckled due to the ink on it, larger doses of bleach are applied to whiten the paper.
Consumer Myths
Because of consumer myths, the cost of recycled paper has not decreased, making it an uneconomical and, thus, undesirable product. Some consumers believe that recycled paper is not as high in quality as virgin paper; their refusal to buy recycled products increases production costs, in turn raising the price of recycled paper. Also, other consumers become confused by the terms "recyclable" and "recycled." "Recycled" means that the product is made of paper waste and "recyclable" means that the paper is made from virgin material, but can be recycled when it becomes waste. The confusion sometimes causes consumers to buy "recyclable" paper rather than "recycled."