Mexico

Currently, around 3.2 million tons of paper are collected and recycled in Mexico annually using the infrastructure and mechanisms established and/or supported by paper manufacturing companies, which represents approximately 47% of the consumption of this product.

Spain

In Spain, according to data from the INE "National Statistics Institute (Spain)"), in 2013, 4.5 million tons of paper and cardboard were recycled, which represents 18.8% of all waste generated in the country.

Algunos de los ya mencionados beneficios del reciclaje de papel han sido duramente criticados, como el hecho de que evite la tala de árboles, ahorre energía, reduzca la contaminación, crea puestos de trabajo o sea más económico.

Energy saving

There is controversy over how much energy is saved through recycling. The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) states on its website that a paper recycling plant uses 40% less energy to make recycled paper than it does when the raw material is wood.[15] Critics, on the other hand, argue that during the overall process more energy can be expended when producing recycled goods than when manufactured using traditional methods. In 2008, a report from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in the United Kingdom was published. I asked:.

Economic savings

The amount of money actually saved by recycling depends on the efficiency of the recycling program used for it. The Institute for Local Independence, in the United States, states that the cost of recycling depends on several factors surrounding the community that recycles, such as what landfills charge and the amount of waste that the community recycles. He maintains that communities begin to save money when recycling is a substitute for the traditional waste disposal system, rather than when it is added to regular disposal.

In a 1996 New York Times article, John Tierney argued that it costs more money to recycle New York's trash than to dispose of it in a landfill. Tierney argued that the recycling process employs additional people for this task, in addition to employees for sorting and inspection, and the fees that must be paid, thus summarizing that the costs of the process to manufacture the final product are often greater than the benefits of its sales.[17]​.

Working conditions

Critics often argue that while recycling creates jobs, they are often low-paying jobs with deplorable working conditions.[18]​ Sometimes, these workers perform work that falls short of producing what the company spends on their salaries.

tree felling

Liberal economist Steven Landsburg, author of Why I'm Not an Environmentalist,[19] asserts that paper recycling actually reduces the forest population. He argues this because paper companies have incentives to reforest forests themselves; a high demand for paper leads to large forests. Conversely, a small demand for paper leads to more mature forests.[20] He expressed similar arguments in an article in 1995 in favor of the free market.[21]​.

When forestry companies cut down trees, others are planted in their place. Most paper comes from forests that are maintained specifically for paper production.[22]​[23]​ Many environmental advocates point out, however, that these farm forests are worse than virgin forests in many ways. Farm forests cannot repair the soil as quickly as virgin ones, causing erosion of the soil and therefore of the forests, and frequently needing fertilizers to maintain, in addition to containing less biodiversity than in virgin ones.[24]​ In addition, the new trees planted are not the same size as the trees that were cut down.

Recycling paper should not be confused with saving the rainforest. Many people have the false concept that making paper is what is causing the deforestation of tropical forests, but this type of wood is rarely used for this purpose. Deforestation occurs mainly due to demographic pressure, which demands more land for agriculture and construction. Therefore, paper recycling, although it reduces the demand for trees, does not benefit tropical forests.[25]​.

There are limits on the percentage of the world's newsprint that can be manufactured from recycled fiber. The most obvious upper limit is that of the nature of recycling itself. Part of the fibers that enter a recycling plant are lost during the process, due to the inefficiencies inherent to it. According to the Friends of the Earth UK website,[26] wood fiber can only be recycled five times, due to the damage it suffers during recycling. Thus, a certain amount of new, virgin fiber is required each year, even if a recycling plant continues to use 100% recycled paper. Additionally, some old newspapers will never make it to a recycling plant, acquiring a large amount of household and industrial uses, or even ending up in the landfill.

Recycling rates vary by country, and even within the same countries they vary between rural and urban areas, as well as within the same cities. The American Forest and Paper Association (AFPA) estimates that more than 72% of the newsprint produced in North America in 2006 was recovered for reuse or export. Of the percentage reused, the AFPA estimates that about a third returns to paper manufacturing. Recycling rates may also vary depending on the market price paid for paper, which may be variable. As an example, in recent years, as China has grown as a manufacturer of various types of paper and packaging (using significant quantities of recycled fiber imported, among others, from the United States), its demand for old newspapers has sometimes been so strong that it has influenced purchasing prices for recycled fiber around the world. Although a high price for recycled fiber is good news for that goal of reducing the quantities of products in landfills, it can affect the profits of newsprint mills that use recycled fibers.

An important consideration in fiber selection for newsprint mills, apart from costs, is the high speed of the modern machines and presses they have. There are machines in the United States operating at speeds approaching 1,400 meters per minute, according to information from the RISI group inc., while the newest machines in the world, including some installed in China, can reach speeds of 1,800 meters per minute. Newer presses can run at speeds of 90,000 copies per hour (according to the industry association IFRA).

Mexico

Currently, around 3.2 million tons of paper are collected and recycled in Mexico annually using the infrastructure and mechanisms established and/or supported by paper manufacturing companies, which represents approximately 47% of the consumption of this product.

Spain

In Spain, according to data from the INE "National Statistics Institute (Spain)"), in 2013, 4.5 million tons of paper and cardboard were recycled, which represents 18.8% of all waste generated in the country.

Algunos de los ya mencionados beneficios del reciclaje de papel han sido duramente criticados, como el hecho de que evite la tala de árboles, ahorre energía, reduzca la contaminación, crea puestos de trabajo o sea más económico.

Energy saving

There is controversy over how much energy is saved through recycling. The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) states on its website that a paper recycling plant uses 40% less energy to make recycled paper than it does when the raw material is wood.[15] Critics, on the other hand, argue that during the overall process more energy can be expended when producing recycled goods than when manufactured using traditional methods. In 2008, a report from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in the United Kingdom was published. I asked:.

Economic savings

The amount of money actually saved by recycling depends on the efficiency of the recycling program used for it. The Institute for Local Independence, in the United States, states that the cost of recycling depends on several factors surrounding the community that recycles, such as what landfills charge and the amount of waste that the community recycles. He maintains that communities begin to save money when recycling is a substitute for the traditional waste disposal system, rather than when it is added to regular disposal.

In a 1996 New York Times article, John Tierney argued that it costs more money to recycle New York's trash than to dispose of it in a landfill. Tierney argued that the recycling process employs additional people for this task, in addition to employees for sorting and inspection, and the fees that must be paid, thus summarizing that the costs of the process to manufacture the final product are often greater than the benefits of its sales.[17]​.

Working conditions

Critics often argue that while recycling creates jobs, they are often low-paying jobs with deplorable working conditions.[18]​ Sometimes, these workers perform work that falls short of producing what the company spends on their salaries.

tree felling

Liberal economist Steven Landsburg, author of Why I'm Not an Environmentalist,[19] asserts that paper recycling actually reduces the forest population. He argues this because paper companies have incentives to reforest forests themselves; a high demand for paper leads to large forests. Conversely, a small demand for paper leads to more mature forests.[20] He expressed similar arguments in an article in 1995 in favor of the free market.[21]​.

When forestry companies cut down trees, others are planted in their place. Most paper comes from forests that are maintained specifically for paper production.[22]​[23]​ Many environmental advocates point out, however, that these farm forests are worse than virgin forests in many ways. Farm forests cannot repair the soil as quickly as virgin ones, causing erosion of the soil and therefore of the forests, and frequently needing fertilizers to maintain, in addition to containing less biodiversity than in virgin ones.[24]​ In addition, the new trees planted are not the same size as the trees that were cut down.

Recycling paper should not be confused with saving the rainforest. Many people have the false concept that making paper is what is causing the deforestation of tropical forests, but this type of wood is rarely used for this purpose. Deforestation occurs mainly due to demographic pressure, which demands more land for agriculture and construction. Therefore, paper recycling, although it reduces the demand for trees, does not benefit tropical forests.[25]​.

There are limits on the percentage of the world's newsprint that can be manufactured from recycled fiber. The most obvious upper limit is that of the nature of recycling itself. Part of the fibers that enter a recycling plant are lost during the process, due to the inefficiencies inherent to it. According to the Friends of the Earth UK website,[26] wood fiber can only be recycled five times, due to the damage it suffers during recycling. Thus, a certain amount of new, virgin fiber is required each year, even if a recycling plant continues to use 100% recycled paper. Additionally, some old newspapers will never make it to a recycling plant, acquiring a large amount of household and industrial uses, or even ending up in the landfill.

Recycling rates vary by country, and even within the same countries they vary between rural and urban areas, as well as within the same cities. The American Forest and Paper Association (AFPA) estimates that more than 72% of the newsprint produced in North America in 2006 was recovered for reuse or export. Of the percentage reused, the AFPA estimates that about a third returns to paper manufacturing. Recycling rates may also vary depending on the market price paid for paper, which may be variable. As an example, in recent years, as China has grown as a manufacturer of various types of paper and packaging (using significant quantities of recycled fiber imported, among others, from the United States), its demand for old newspapers has sometimes been so strong that it has influenced purchasing prices for recycled fiber around the world. Although a high price for recycled fiber is good news for that goal of reducing the quantities of products in landfills, it can affect the profits of newsprint mills that use recycled fibers.

An important consideration in fiber selection for newsprint mills, apart from costs, is the high speed of the modern machines and presses they have. There are machines in the United States operating at speeds approaching 1,400 meters per minute, according to information from the RISI group inc., while the newest machines in the world, including some installed in China, can reach speeds of 1,800 meters per minute. Newer presses can run at speeds of 90,000 copies per hour (according to the industry association IFRA).