Did
you know? In North America, it takes less than two seconds to grow the fiber
for a standard #10 envelope. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. According to Two
Sides North America, here are some little known facts about paper and trees.
- The time required to grow the fiber needed for
a #10 envelope is 0.3 to 1.9 seconds.
- The time required to grow the fiber needed for
a ream of 500-sheet office paper is 0.3 to 2.2 hours.
Growth
rates are based on 100 acres of managed forest in North America.*
The
fastest growth rates are for Loblolly Pine and Hybrid Aspen. The slowest are
for Black Spruce. Climate and temperature play a large role in growth rates.
Here
are some other fun facts:
- A forestland owner or tree farmer with 100
acres of commercial pulpwood could produce 15.8 million #10 envelopes or
4,000 reams of copy paper (500 sheets each) in a single year.
- Any market for paper products also benefits
local communities, given that a portion of the income is re-injected into
local businesses and services.
Unfortunately,
claims such as “go paperless – go green” or “save trees” mislead consumers into
believing that paper is environmentally damaging, as well as a cause of
deforestation (permanent forest loss) when it is not. In fact, paper supports the growth of North
American forests, and well-managed forests provide a multitude of
environmental, social and economic benefits to thousands of North American
communities. Forests are also key to
helping mitigate climate change due to carbon sequestration and promoting
biodiversity compared to other land uses.
Want
to learn more? Check out Two Sides’ Fact Sheets or Myths and Facts series.
*
Results are based on type of tree species used and the age and growing
conditions of the trees. Data and fiber growth rate calculations were obtained
from the literature for nine tree species used in pulp and paper production and
occurring under different growing conditions in the U.S. and Canada.
Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.
Share On LinkedIn
