These days, privacy protection is one of the highest priorities both for businesses and responsible individuals.
No matter who you are and what you do, identity theft is a serious matter. One way to make sure that no personal info can be found on your documents is to have them shredded.
However, even if you have a paper shredder at home or in your office, using it might not be the best option. Even after you have shredded the documents, you are still tasked with storing that paper away, which is better left to the professionals.
Privacy concerns aside, paper shredding not appropriately done is bad for the environment in many ways.
Recycling
This happens because recycling facilities used by cities, counties, local governments, etc., are not able to process shredded paper. Shreds of paper can clog the machines they often use to sort recyclable material because it’s designed for larger sheets of paper, cardboard, etc. Any shredded paper that ends up there is usually outright discarded or ends up on the floor just to be thrown away with the trash.
Professional shredding companies will have some sort of system to ensure that they are environmentally friendly and recycle as much as possible.
Plants will invest in green machinery and use paper traps to minimize wastage before delivering all shredded paper and offcuts to a recycling plant to be reused. By reusing all of this discarded paper, shredding plants prevent the destruction of more forests and trees.
Saving resources
Our society consumes paper faster than we can grow trees. Recycling paper creates meaningful environmental savings all around, starting from the trees.
Did you know that the average American uses the equivalent of seven trees per year in paper production? Recycling paper can save two billion trees per year.
This is a shame considering that factories can recycle paper up to seven times. While not as versatile as some other paper types, shredded office paper can be recycled into many products, including toilet paper and paper towels.
Mixed grade recycled paper can also be used as raw material in non-paper products such as roofing felt and cellulose insulation or for molded pulp products like egg cartons.
Don’t let it go to waste. One ton of recycled paper saves approximately seventeen trees. Every tree you save lowers carbon dioxide emissions. Trees absorb CO2 throughout their entire life span, and upon dying, they will release it all back into the atmosphere.
By reducing the number of trees cut down, we directly help lower CO2 emissions and preserve nature.
Landfill volume
Paper accounts for roughly one-fourth of all the waste we make.
Transport for waste costs money. The more waste there is, the more it costs to transport it. With landfill volume increasing, more and more land is used for waste containment. Waste often needs to be burned, and this causes air pollution.
Paper contains many toxins that leak into the soil from open and covered landfills and into the ground, where it causes ecological damage.
Pollution damage
On the other hand, recycled paper takes roughly half as much energy to create, making it a valuable saving in power. Not only that, but there is a significant amount of chemicals emitted during the paper manufacturing process.
Nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide are all pollutants that are byproducts of making new paper. Nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxides are the significant contributors to acid rain and other environmental issues, whereas carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas responsible for climate change.
Potential lung damage
When you shred paper at home, you might notice paper dust flying through the air.
The bad news is that there is a high risk of that dust harming your lungs.
According to a Scientific American study, sorting machines could send potentially carcinogenic volatile organic compounds (such as ink) and other irritants like dust mites into the air. Paper dust can be a hazard to those inhaling it, causing and exacerbating respiratory problems.
This is one more reason for you to let someone else handle your paper shredding needs.
Water Consumption
It takes 324 liters of water to manufacture just one kilogram of paper. Paper manufacture requires the most extensive industrial use of water on a per pound of paper basis. It also consumes the third largest amount of fossil fuels worldwide of all industries.
Compost Potential
Shredded paper is the perfect by-product to be turned into compost. Choosing to dispose of your shredded paper in an environmentally friendly way keeps it away from the landfill. Your old documents have the potential to be composted into a rich organic mixture which is great for soil and plants.
