Though the electronic era has been at its best for many years, people are still held hostage by paper. Most of them recklessly waste this extremely valuable resource by producing tons of paper waste. But fortunately, more and more people are also changing their thinking by starting to care more for the environment, minimizing their use of paper or abandoning it altogether..
Paper usage
Paradoxically, at the beginning of its existence, paper was a luxury commodity used as a communication tool, but now paper is mainly used for wrapping. Paper is also wasted in offices around the world, where it circulates in the form of contracts and piles of archived files. Office printers and trash cans are full of paper that, with a little bit of good will, could easily be saved. This is, among others, why we decided to create Autenti and make it possible to sign contracts and documents with an electronic signature.
Paper production
In order to produce paper it takes twice as much electricity as to make a plastic bag. But that's not the most distressing thing. Paper production consumes more and more trees, and deforestation is one of the most pressing problems in today’s world. As much as 14% of all trees cut down in the world are used for paper production. Does it really make sense to sacrifice something this extraordinary just to turn it into paper?
We have compiled some interesting facts about paper waste in the USA, which we have left below for you. Each point is influential and works strongly on our imaginations, so let’s face it…
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One tree produces the amount of oxygen necessary for the life of three people
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The average financial industry employee uses an average of 1 kilogram of paper… everyday
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The average American uses 317 kg of paper each year
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If you collected all the paper used in a year, you could build a 4-meter paper wall that would stretch from New York to California
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US offices alone use up 12.1 QUINTILLION (!) sheets of paper per year
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The office segment uses up the most paper (this also includes catalogs, leaflets and traditional correspondence)
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50% of the garbage produced by business people is made up of paper
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If we were to recycle half of the world's paper, we would save 20 million acres of forest from being cut down
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95% of global business data is still saved in paper form
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5 liters of water is needed to produce 1 sheet of A4 paper
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93% of the world's paper comes from trees
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Recycling 1 ton of paper helps save 2,585 liters of oil, 26,500 liters of water and 17 trees
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The electronic revolution was predicted to minimize the need for paper. This did not happen. If we do not act now, the demand for paper will double by 2030.
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By the time you read this post, 199 tonnes of paper are being produced
Thus far, if you have been wondering whether or not to put your trust in Autenti, we hope that by reading this text you are convinced that it is worth it!
source: theworldcounts.com
