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Cons of Paper Recycling

As the world looks for ways to improve the environment, recycling items such as paper is a popular option for localities trying to push green energy initiatives. But while there are some undisputed advantages to recycling paper products instead of just throwing them away, critics point to a number of drawbacks in the practice.

  1. High Cost

    • The cost of collecting recycled paper often exceeds how much the local government can get for the finished product on the open market. Localities must also operate additional trucks to pick up the recyclable paper, burning fuel and offsetting environmental gains. It is often much cheaper for governments to simply dump the paper in a landfill, according to Environmental Health Perspectives. Also, ReUseIt notes that it takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than to recycle a pound of paper.

    Benefits Difficult to Quantify

    • Health and environmental benefits of recycling paper are usually indirect and difficult to quantify, EHP notes.

    Burns Fossil Fuels

    • Using trees to make office paper means using up a renewable resource, and part of the process is "fueled by wood by-products of the pulping process," EHP notes. Using recyclables to make paper involves depleting fossil fuel resources, which are non-renewable.

    Benefits Vary

    • The benefit of recycling paper differs depending on where you are. Each locality has different market conditions, transportation systems and greater or lesser purity of recycled material.

    Limited Use

    • You can recycle paper only five to seven times. Every time paper is recycled, the fibers get shorter and it is harder for them to bond into new paper, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

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