Today 21 Nov 2012 observed as Paperless Day in UAE

| Share |

Home >
Our Actions >
Ambassador report

16
Comments

ambassador Report View
Today 21 Nov 2012 observed as Paperless Day in UAE
by Simran Vedvyas \| 22-11-2012 02:17 0
Did you know- Since 1990, land in tropical forests has been disappearing at the rate of one football field every 2 seconds to satisfy the worlds demand for paper? 80% of all office waste is paper? We observed Paperless Day in our school today as we did in 2011 too, an initiative started by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, promoting better paper saving habits for the long-term, in an effort to reduce our impact on the environment. All photocopying was stalled for the day and printing was reduced to minimum. The school which uses about 8-10 reams of paper per day on an average used not even 1 ream in observance. The students had to study and we used note copies to write notes but were careful on not misusing paper and each one of us knew the importance of paper. We have been collecting old news papers and recycling them on a regular basis. The simple ways to get started and join the paperless movement are- Make informed choices when buying paper and learn all about what types of paper are more sustainable and environmentally-friendly. The more people you involve in your paper-saving quest, the more impact your efforts will have. Get involved in Paperless Day with the goal of building better paper-saving habits in the future. GET SET FOR A PAPERLESS DAY, 365 DAYS INA YEAR- I am sharing some useful tips to help you reduce your wasteful paper use and to get yourself for Paperless Day 2012. EVERYTIME- Think before you Print- DO I REALLY NEED TO DO? PRINT SMART, USE BOTH SIDES OF THE PAPER, MINIMISE FONT AND MARGIN. WHY PAPERLESS? - http://www.paperlessday.com/why-paperless.aspx Since paper is so easily available it's easy to forget about its enormous environmental impact. It is recognized that the paper and pulp industry is one of the biggest contributors to climate change and every step in the life cycle of a sheet of paper contributes to climate change - from cutting down trees, to producing the pulp and paper, to its eventual disposal. The paper production process significantly contributes to the destruction of forests in fact around 40% of the world's commercially cut timber is processed for paper. Half the world's forests have already been cleared or burned, and 80% of what's left has been seriously degraded. Since 1990, 9 million hectares of tropical forest have disappeared every year. That's one football field every 2 seconds. The loss of forests is more damaging than just the physical loss of trees, forests store roughly 50% of all terrestrial carbon, making them one of our most important safeguards against climate change. The destruction of forests also seriously threatens the habitats of many rare and critically endangered plant and animal species including Asian big cats such as Tigers, Asian Elephants, Asian Rhinos, and Orangutans The paper production process also consumes vast amounts of water and discharges water pollutants as well as omitting huge quantities of greenhouse gasses - a main source of global climate change. In fact, the pulp and paper industry is the fourth largest emitter of industrial greenhouse gases. When it rots, paper emits methane (a greenhouse gas), and it releases the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) when it is composted or burned. When you consider that 80% of office waste is paper, and the large majority of this goes to landfill – it is easy to see there is lot of wasted resources, money and time, buried in these landfills. The UAE has a very high per capita consumption of paper, 175kg, against the global average of 62 kg. The UAE also has one of the highest ecological footprints in the world. To maintain our current way of living we would need 5.6 planet earths. Reducing wasteful paper use will play an important role in addressing the imbalance of current resource use and enabling a sustainable quality of life. Paperless Day is an easy and practical way to start on the journey toward being more resource efficient. By Simran Vedvyas Environment Club Prefect- The Millennium School

Dormant user Simran Vedvyas

16 Comments

Simran Vedvyas says :
Hi Anggi Be sure to use the links as some great information is available and it will help Good Luck with your studies too
Posted 27-11-2012 18:22

says :
Sure guys, I am so keen on doing that. Wish me luck with my time management, though. These weeks a bit overloaded with School's Exams, slowing down my posting here and other moves out there. Indeed, I learn a lot from your enthuastic activities!
Posted 27-11-2012 10:06

Simran Vedvyas says :
http://www.eeg-uae.org/programmes/waste-management-programmes/paper-collection-campaign
There is no reason not to recycle papers! Recycling paper saves natural resources, saves energy, saves trees, creates less toxic by-products and helps reduce waste going to landfill. Paper is among the easiest item to recycle because it is dry, clean and easy to store. Using recycled paper to make 1 ton of new paper saves 17 trees, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, 360 gallons of water and 60 pounds of air pollutants. Furthermore, using recycled paper to make new paper uses 60% less energy than using fresh timber. EEG thought that these facts and figures were too beneficial to ignore and consequently set up its most successful campaign in 2001 to collect and recycle papers, cardboard, magazines and other products made of paper. The campaign allows companies, individuals and academic institutions to participate and show their dedication towards the environment.
Posted 26-11-2012 22:42

Simran Vedvyas says :
Bolortuya Baatar, I collect paper since 2007 and hand over to Emirates Environmental Group http://www.eeg-uae.org/ and the recycling is professionally and effectively conducted
Posted 26-11-2012 22:41

says :
Good job Simran, it is really nice, you guys collect old newspaper and old papers. So how does it recycle by yourself or recycle manufacture? i want to know more about recycling process in your country.. Thank you
Posted 26-11-2012 22:15

Simran Vedvyas says :
Thanks Christy,
I agree with you on this Anggi is one of the Fine, active and very enthusiastic Ambassadors, Simran
Posted 26-11-2012 21:56

says :
Well, I have a feeling that Anggi is really gonna do that ^)
Posted 26-11-2012 20:59

Simran Vedvyas says :
Thanks Anggi, Great to have your comment, Share it in your area too
Posted 24-11-2012 13:05

says :
SImran, you are a really environmentalist!! Thanks for this article
Posted 23-11-2012 18:28

Simran Vedvyas says :
You are so Welcome Shibajyoti :-)
Posted 23-11-2012 15:13

Simran Vedvyas says :
Thanks Christy for all your support and attention to fine details

Posted 23-11-2012 15:12

says :
Thanks for your Paperless fights
And supplying of related websites.

Posted 23-11-2012 13:02

says :
Oh, I visited several sites you'd shown. They are really informative.
You smart girl ^) Thank you!
Posted 23-11-2012 08:22

Simran Vedvyas says :
SHARING TO RAISE AWARENESS AND IN THE INTEREST OF ALL OF US-
Links to Guide
From the purchasing of paper to the effect paper is having on our environment you
can get all the information you need to make better paper choices

http://checkyourpaper.panda.org/about/rating_system
http://checkyourpaper.panda.org/paperbuyingtips/
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/forestry/certification/
http://environmentalpaper.org/our-resources/tools-for-paper-purchasers/
http://www.greenbiz.com/research/report/2002/06/11/office-paper-recycling
http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/reuse-paper-bags
http://conservatree.org/learn/EnviroIssues/TreeStats.shtml
http://www.greenpressinitiative.org/documents/socialimpactsfactsheet.pdf
http://www.greenpressinitiative.org/impacts/climateimpacts.htm
http://www.oneplanetliving.net/
http://www.oneplanetliving.org/index.html
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/7447
Posted 22-11-2012 20:38

Simran Vedvyas says :
Thank You Christy <3
Posted 22-11-2012 13:51

says :
Thank you Simran!
This is a perfect article for understanding the environmental issues regarding paper use.
It is worth of finding time to read through. :-)
Posted 22-11-2012 09:02