Quiz Yourself: 5 Myths & Facts About Paper Waste

Myths & Facts About Paper Waste

Test Your Paper Knowledge

Let's Take a Deep Dive into... the Paper Industry!

An industry that has been making rapid progress in terms of sustainability. Since 1990, the paper industry has cut its CO2 emissions by 40%. (source:multicopy.nl) Naturally, we are pleased about that!
To be clear: Bambook isn’t against paper... but we prefer better alternatives.
There are some serious facts about paper waste we should talk about but let's see the results from our Instagram Poll about reducing paper waste.

1. Fact or fiction? -> Paper fibre can be recycled three times.

71% of you thought that this was a fact about paper waste, but… it's fiction.

Because it's more than three! Paper fibre can be recycled up to seven times. (source: afvalcontainer.nl)

But did you know you can endlessly reuse a Bambook notebook? That's a near-perfect solution to reducing paper waste, don't you think?

Because all the machines required for paper recycling (and the chemical processes involved, such as bleaching paper fibres) consume energy and use polluting substances.

2. Fact or fiction? -> The FSC label is about sustainable paper

75% of you tapped on 'fact', but this is fiction.

Everyone knows the familiar FSC logo. No doubt you'll have seen it many times – but what does it actually stand for?

The FSC logo stands for much more than sustainable paper: it stands for the preservation of forests and responsible logging. Because wood fibres are also used for paper, you'll often see the FSC logo on a pack of paper, or on wooden furniture, for example.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international organisation dedicated to responsible forestry management worldwide. (Source: wwf.nl)

Naturally, the paper used for the pages of your Bambook is also FSC certified. Check, check!

3. Fact or fiction? -> In 2019, the paper industry was responsible for more CO2 emissions than aviation.

68% of you thought that was true, and… it is! It's a fact –

at least if we are to believe this article by De Correspondent (a Dutch journalistic platform). This article is from 2019, so the figures have since changed. But we think it's important that you know the historic figures for the paper industry, and that concerns about wasting paper are not unjustified.

In 2022, Docusign published an article in which they wrote that the paper industry is the world's fourth largest consumer of energy. Not just because trees are cut down to make paper but also because fossil fuels and chemicals are required to turn those wood fibres into paper. (Source: docusign.nl)

4. Fact or fiction? -> In Europe, we use more paper every year.

87% of you thought that was true, but it isn't! It's fiction

Which is good news as far as we're concerned! The production of paper and cardboard fell by 5.9% in 2022. (Source: grafisch-nieuws.knack.be) A fall in production was recorded worldwide.

High prices for gas and raw materials

The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) says: "Weak paper production in the second half of the year is largely explained by high prices for energy and raw materials in Europe. This has led to machines temporarily standing idle."

Consequences of the pandemic on the paper industry

The coronavirus has also had an impact on our paper consumption. For instance, eco-friendly paper manufacturer Paperwise reports that revenue from their copier paper fell by 50% as a result of people working from home during the pandemic. “We wonder whether the coronavirus has delivered the final push towards the paperless office”, say Paperwise. (Source: paperwise.eu)

Digitalisation

We have seen the European market for graphic paper contracting since 2010. By 2019, the market had shrunk by 40% compared to 2010, with the main cause being digitalisation. We are reading the news digitally, brochures have been replaced by websites, and invoices and flyers are nowadays sent out by e-mail. Copying and printing behaviour is changing, resulting in a contraction of almost 4.5% on an annual basis. (Source: paperwise.eu)

5. Fact or fiction? -> Erasable writing is more sustainable than recycled paper.

86% of you thought that was true, and… it is! It's a fact –

the pages of Bambooks are also made of paper. But thanks to a special UV coating combined with our Bambook pen, the pages are erasable.

We can hear you thinking: "Oh yes, and how sustainable is the UV coating?"

An independent study by Blue Engineering has revealed that in terms of their ecological footprint, producing a Bambook is equivalent to producing a normal notebook.

That means you are making a difference and saving paper as soon as you erase the pages of your Bambook and reuse them for the first time.

Good to know!

In order to make the paper industry even more sustainable, our dream is for as many people as possible to start using Bambooks.
Mix & match the Bambook that will look perfect on your desk today.