Bee exclusive: State's recycled paper trail not so green for climate

Sacramento Bee ^ | 11/9/9 | Tom Knudson

[SmithL]

Near Mark Oldfield's desk at the California Department of Conservation sits a ream of copy paper that is more than a routine office commodity.

Made in part from recycled fiber, it is a symbol of the state's green spirit, one ream among thousands backing the department's claim that it is a champion of the environment – and complies with state law requiring it to buy recycled paper.

There is a dark side to those sheets of bright, white paper: the part that isn't recycled comes from trees logged in the biologically rich but endangered forests of Indonesia.

Oldfield, a public affairs officer, was not aware of the connection until contacted by The Bee. Now that he knows, Oldfield said his office will not buy anymore and may try to return the unused reams.

"We're required to buy this type of paper," he said. "And that's what we did."

California has a worldwide reputation as a leader in global warming, more so than any other state. But an ongoing Bee investigation has found some of the state's choices – such as failing to evaluate environmental costs of printer ink cartridge recycling and allowing its employees to travel on the dime of energy companies – raise questions about the effectiveness of its efforts.

[SmithL]

Maria Rosa separates some of the blizzard of white paper waste sent by the state to Sacramento's Recycling Industries, which sorts and bundles it for shipment to China. Some question the wisdom of the state's recycling practices under a 1989 state law.

[SmithL]

Yeah, but mandating recycling makes them FEEEEEEEEL good.

[KarlInOhio]

I want paper than is half recycled and half spotted owl.

[SZonian]

So if they return the unused reams of paper will that make the trees reappear? Will that assuage their “guilt”?

Jeez, the trees have already been cut down and turned into paper, at least use it.

What a bunch of maroons we have in Sacramento/CA.

SZ

[jimmyray]

Please include a side of Snail Darter with mine.

[AppyPappy]

Geez, they are plants, not unborn children.

[TheZMan]

Oh thank God they’re leading the nation in global warming efforts. Of course, this liberal mindset has bankrupted the state, but hey, at least they get to sleep easier at night.

Bunch of morons.

[RC2]

Weren’t computers supposed to help make us a “paperless” society. What happened? It sounds like all the computers and printers did was allow us to print out more paper, faster.

[Rippin]

CO2 is fertilizer. Without CO2 nothing would be green. With CO2, the world is more green. Thanks to CO2, the rainforests are expanding now.

[Freedom4US]

Aluminum is one of the few profitably and ecologically sound recyclable. Even glass needs separation by color, and must be clean before melting. Sand is cheap, and transportation costs including fuel, trucks, drivers, etc - make recycling horribly inefficient even in urban areas. Rural areas have crunched the numbers and by far the most efficient way to get rid of garbage is to burn it, but of course that’s anathema to the greenies. Perhaps burning garbage in an electricity generating plant is something they could get behind, but I doubt it.

[abb]

[MrB]

I’m currently reading “living off the grid”, because I want to develop my own self-sufficient power sources so that ‘bammy & co can’t come along and shut down my electricity because I’m not “in favor” (smart grid - did you think it was for “efficiency”?).

Anyway, this book is written by an insufferable lib who just states as a fact that humans are causing global warming because of power generating CO2 emissions. No caveats, no “most believe”, etc. Just states it as a fact.

I’ll just skim it and glean the useful info and grit my teeth at the lies.

[Question Liberal Authority]

Maybe if environmentalists allowed the United States to cut down its own trees, we wouldn't have to scrounge around the 'endangered forests of Indonesia' for our supply.

How much paper could have been made out of the trees that burned in the last few years of California wildfires?

[Question Liberal Authority]

Maybe if environmentalists allowed the United States to cut down its own trees, we wouldn't have to scrounge around the 'endangered forests of Indonesia' for our supply.

How much paper could have been made out of the trees that burned in the last few years of California wildfires?

[Question Liberal Authority]

Glass is chemically inert and basically made of melted rocks. When you recycle glass, you are saving rocks. The most eco-friendly thing to do with the stuff would be to dump it into the ocean.

[SZonian]

In a twisted way, that’s the beauty of this conundrum the envirostatists find themselves in. They are almost always falling into their own traps and since they’re involved at a high emotional degree, they get spooled up even more.

I love it! Stupid liberals.

For every action there is a reaction kind of thing.

SZ

[RobRoy]

Penn and Teller covered this on it’s several years old Bullshit episode on recycling.

I used to be an avid recycler in the “think globally but act locally” sort of way. I don’t recycle at all any more. It all goes into the trash.

Except for aluminum cans.

[kidd]

Aluminum is one of the few profitably and ecologically sound recyclable.

Yes. Extracting aluminum from raw ore is very energy intensive. Much more so than other metals.

Regarding paper recycling: It really isn't good for the environment. The vast majority of pulp sources are from farmed trees, not wild trees. By recylcing paper, you discourage tree farms.

Secondly, look at the caption to the picture in the first post. Paper is being sent to China for recycling...

[Balding_Eagle]

Weren’t computers supposed to help make us a “paperless” society. What happened?

I've said many times, prior to the 'paperless office' I bought paper by the ream.

Since the advent of the 'paperless office', out of necessity, I am forced to buy paper by the box.

[VOA]

envirohypocrites

[Question Liberal Authority]

They are almost always falling into their own traps and since they’re involved at a high emotional degree, they get spooled up even more.

Right, but nobody ever calls them on it, especially the people who write public policy. There should be as much shame and ridicule heaped upon someone who says they're 'an environmentalist' as there is on someone who says they're a member of the Flat Earth Society. But it never happens. Because even if they're wrong, "they care".

[Hegewisch Dupa]

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I don’t recycle at all any more. It all goes into the trash.

Same here. I have a 32 gallon wastebasket at home. Everything goes in the trash.

[momincombatboots]

Makes you wonder how much energy is used to actually recycle the paper. It is transported to how many different facilities for processing plus water and resources for this processing.

[Question Liberal Authority]

Regarding paper recycling: It really isn't good for the environment.

The economic purpose of paper recycling is to save LANDFILL SPACE. If landfill space is at a premium (which it generally is, thanks to NIMBY'S and environmentalists), then recycling paper is a good way to reduce the need for landfills. This was particularly true when everyone read newspapers every day which were printed on dead trees.

Unfortunately, the paper recycling message was sexed up, so that generations of folks think that trees are in danger of becoming extinct and must be preserved. So now we won't chop down any tree, even if it's in our economic or even environmental interest to do so.

[Stosh]

Dittos on aluminum - recycling it almost always makes good sense.

For everything else, in most circumstances, recycling is essentially a religious ritual associated with a bogus belief system.

And I’ve got nothing against religious rituals — except when they’re used to convince gullible people they’re saving the planet.

[Question Liberal Authority]

Makes you wonder how much energy is used to actually recycle the paper.

Way more now than when people started recycling the stuff. My Grandfather read 3 newspapers every day and would accumulate an entire garage full of paper in a few months. It was easy work to collect all the stacks of old newspapers in a neighborhood and recycle them. Recyclers would even pay money for newspapers (usually 2 to 3 cents per pound) because it was worthwhile to deal with the commodity.

Nowadays, newspaper readers are relatively scarce, the papers themselves are fairly thin and printed on a variety of materials. Recyclers won't pay money for them at all, and usually won't even take them for free.

[Cicero]

Maria Rosa separates some of the blizzard of white paper waste sent by the state to Sacramento's Recycling Industries, which sorts and bundles it for shipment to China. Some question the wisdom of the state's recycling practices under a 1989 state law.

Gosh. That's nice. So California recycled paper involves shipping the old paper to China, mixing it with precious trees from Indonesia, and then shipping it back to California.

This reminds me of the Gray Davis power crisis. California absolutely refuses to generate any new power for itself, but they demand preferential prices for power brought in from out of state.

We recycle here in Vermont, but it has become questionable because the trash haulers no longer can sell the recycled materials but now have to pay to get them taken away.

Maybe we should just scatter the used paper in the woods, where it will biodegrade and feed the trees, instead of putting it out to get hauled off at great expense and disposed of in landfills, where it will contribute nothing but more expenses.

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[Carry_Okie]

They are almost always falling into their own traps and since they’re involved at a high emotional degree, they get spooled up even more.

The whole purpose was making the investors in manufacturers of foreign products such as recycled paper richer. They don't give a crap about American forests. Besides, "fire is Natural."

[MSF BU]

I can assure them that there are paper mills in Maine that would gladly supply the shorfall without hurting any endagered forests.

[Brad from Tennessee]

“California has a worldwide reputation as a leader in global warming, more so than any other state.”

One reason why it is also a leader in forced furloughs of state workers and the skimming of their wages, paying vendors with IOU’s, and the early release of potentially violent convicts.

[BigBobber]

I use hardly any printing paper anymore - at home or work. Storing and transmitting everything on computers is much more convenient. I also take no newspaper and only a couple of magazines.

However we do fill up our recycle bin with junk mail every week!

[Balding_Eagle]

Unfortunately, I have to keep hard copies with original signatures.

[Darth Reardon]

Maybe we should just scatter the used paper in the woods, where it will...

provide excellent tinder.

[Cicero]

I guess it depends were you are. My woods are wet enough so anything on the ground quickly sinks in and rots, as long as it’s lying on the ground where the needle and leaf falls will cover it. You might want to bury the paper, I suppose.