Why Are Paper Napkins Bad for the Environment?
The next time you want to clean something---your eyeglasses, laptop screen or your face---think twice before reaching for a nice white paper napkin and consider using a washcloth, cloth napkin or microfiber cloth instead. Quite a few of the paper napkins available on the market nowadays are environmentally unfriendly for many important reasons.
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Virgin Pulp
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While recycled paper has many applications nowadays, it has not gained widespread acceptance as a base material for napkins. Recycled paper can be harsher than paper made from virgin pulp---which is sourced directly from living trees---and the smoothness of the finished product is important to napkin consumers and, thus, producers. The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says that many of the nation's most ecologically valuable forests have been put at risk thanks to the large amounts of virgin pulp that these forests can provide.
Chlorine Use
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Paper pulp that is processed into paper is not naturally white. Napkin paper becomes pure and white because it is treated with bleach, which contains chlorine, during the paper-making process. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that chlorine can affect the reproductive and respiratory systems. Also, when chlorine combines with other substances also used in paper making, harmful compounds called organochlorines can be formed, which are known to be carcinogenic and which can also cause reproductive, developmental and immune-system damage in both fish and humans.
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Other Inputs
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In addition to the paper industry's use of chlorine and virgin pulp, the EPA says that the industry is the nation's largest consumer of processed water and the third largest consumer of energy behind the metals and chemical industries. A pulp mill, for instance, requires 4,000 to 12,000 gallons of water and 14 million to 20 million British thermal units (Btu) of energy to process each ton of paper pulp.
Industrial Pollution
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The paper industry is a major generator of air and water pollution. The industry is the third largest industrial source of global warming gases on the planet today, says the EPA. Most of these gases are released during pulp processing. In addition, transportation of paper napkins and other finished products to consumers usually consumes a great deal of fuel, since paper and pulp mills are usually located far away from major population centers.
Challenging Disposal
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Lastly, the disposal and recycling of paper napkins and other kinds of paper can be environmentally challenging thanks to the vast amount of paper waste generated. The EPA says that one-third of the waste that American households generate is composed of napkins and other paper products. Only half of this paper waste is recycled.
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