P A P E R

The forests of the Earth give sustenance to all its lifeforms. To us human beings, forests give more than just that. Paper – intrinsic to the concept of formal education – has played an important part in the life of anyone who is reading this right now.

Beyond that, the vibrancy of paper decor at parties, the convenience of paper cups and the manner in which paper bags and wrapping rid us from the guilt of using plastic – makes paper an essential commodity in our lives. But with a business as usual scenario, the growing demand for paper adds pressure on the Earth’s last remaining natural forests and endangered wildlife.

Global paper consumption has grown four times in the last 50 years, with 10% of the world consuming over 50% of the paper available. India’s paper consumption is projected to rise by over 53% by 2020. Rising production of paper using virgin fibre as raw material to meet this demand threatens the natural resources. Currently, only two thirds of all paper mills operational in the country use recycled fibre or waste paper as their primary raw material. This is sourced both from India and through imports, but the present recovery of this waste in India is only 27% of the total paper and paperboard consumed, while the rest ends up in landfills!

So how do we change this? It’s quite simple – Give Up using paper irresponsibly! Recycling even one tonne of paper saves 70% of the raw material, 60% of the coal, 43% of the energy and 70% water as compared to making virgin paper from wood!

This Earth Hour, we need to Give Up wasting paper to give back to the forests and save our fast depleting resources!

Pledge now to give up!