Is recycling paper really worse for the environment than landfilling?
Very interesting article, thanks for sharing it! While it’s obvious that it’s better to recycle than to dump used paper into a landfill, incinerators do pose an interesting alternative. This would be especially good if the incinerators were also producing electrical energy. Aside from the chemicals released to the air though, the article did talk about the huge amount of waste they need to keep the plants running. This is a major problem with it. If employment virgin paper workers is a problem it would be more cost effective to provide job training so they can work elsewhere and to encourage other industries in those areas. The major flaw with this article and the studies it was referencing is that it did not take into account the environmental impact of growing and harvesting wood for paper. As a former US Forest Service employee, let me describe a few things. First, although paper companies do grow trees on their own land, the Forest Service also grows trees for paper and sells them
