Paper, Climate Change (CONT’D FROM PAGE 16)
GHG emissions are avoided. That’s a significant environ- mental benefit when you consider that around two-thirds of all paper and paper-based packaging is recovered for recycling in the U.S. and Canada, more than plastics, glass and metals combined. When you single out corrugated cardboard, the recovery rate jumps to nearly 90 percent. The US EPA reports that the amount of paper and pa- per-based packaging that was recycled instead of going to landfills lowered U.S. GHG emissions by 155 million met- ric tons of CO2e in 2018, an amount equivalent to taking over 33 million cars off the road for an entire year. The North American paper industry continues to invest billions of dollars in technology to increase the types of pa- per products that can be recycled as well as infrastructure investments that expand recycling capacity. For example, U.S. producers have announced or planned $4.5 billion in manufacturing infrastructure investments by 2023, more than $2.5 million per day. The industry also is focused on “recyclable by design” innovations that help brands, re- tailers and other end users develop fully recyclable paper packaging by eliminating non-recyclable elements. Paper producers’ commitment to sustainable forest management, the use of renewable, carbon neutral en- ergy, and support and investment in recycling has trans- formed the circularity of paper products from vision to real- ity, and will help to drive further GHG emission reductions. Kathi Rowzie is President at Two Sides North America. For more information, visit https://twosidesna.org.
Some in the ENGO community argue that because biomass releases just as much CO2 in the atmosphere as fossil fuels, it isn’t really carbon neutral. But the U.S. De- partment of Energy (DOE) and other experts disagree. As DOE explains: “Burning biomass releases about the same amount of carbon dioxide as burning fossil fuels. However, fossil fuels release carbon dioxide captured by photosyn- thesis millions of years ago – an essentially “new” green- house gas. Biomass, on the other hand, releases carbon dioxide that is largely balanced by the carbon dioxide cap- tured in its own growth.” In other words, biomass contains carbon that was only recently removed from the atmosphere by photosynthe- sis, and that same carbon is returned to the atmosphere as part of the natural carbon cycle when it is burned to gen- erate energy. This inherent property exists whether or not trees are regrown. Sustainable forest management prac- tices help make sure that biofuel use does not outpace forest regrowth. The IPCC concludes that, “Regardless of how carbon neutrality is defined and calculated, the use of forest biomass produced under conditions where forest carbon stocks are stable or increasing always yields long- term mitigation benefits.” Avoided Emissions: Paper’s Recycling Success Story When paper products are sent to landfills, they release GHGs as they decompose. When they are recycled, these
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