Is it better to shred paper and recycle, or burn it?

Question

I know recycling is better than burning, but how about boxes of papers that MUST be destroyed before they can be recycled? A shredder must use a lot of electricity to deal with that much, and we know that electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, so it is hurting the environment. Which does more harm, though, shredding a box of papers, or burning it?

Answer 1

Definatly better to shred more enviro friendly plus u can reuse for animals/parcels.

Answer 2

It is better to shredd paper than burn it cause the ozone is bad enough .

Answer 3

shred, more friendly to the environment,

we could reuse the paper,

but we cant reuse fire, so dont waste it.

Answer 4

yea wat  kt2007 said!

Answer 5

why don us draw  a lil pcituere?

Answer 6

well if you use a hand winded shredder then it only uses your body's energy and burning paper is terrible and such a waste

Answer 7

How about a fourth option.  Recycle what you can, and for non-recyclable paper and waxed cardboard which can't be recycled, compost it (as long as no harmful inks or chemicals are present).  

Even paper not usually recycled into new paper for human use is finding its way into farm and companion animal bedding:  http://www.yesterdaysnews.com/?D=658246&... and the combination of f***s (nitrogen) and paper (carbon) make good fertilizer after being composted.

Granted, the pelleted cat litter needs to be processed, but not all composted paper would have to be - it could be torn by hand, or used in whole sections and the urine/bacteria will break it down.

Answer 8

The burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, but it is estimated that natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount so there is a net increase of 11.6 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year.  Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases that enhances radiative forcing and contributes to global warming causing the average surface temperature of the Earth to rise in response which climate scientists agree will cause major adverse effects, including on biodiversity and, over time, cause sea level rise.  

Fossil Fules can bring significant amounts of energy when burned so it is very important when viewed from that angle.

And also to quote from a forum entry:

Paper is a renewable resource just like wood, since it's made from wood. So in terms of the CO2 cycle, it makes no difference whether the carbon in the paper goes into the atmosphere now, or when the next guy burns it or it eventually decomposes in a landfill.

On the other hand, the argument for recycling paper is that making recycled paper takes less energy overall -- there's less transportation cost from forest to mill, less energy used in pulping paper than wood, less energy used in getting the paper to market, since the recycling mills are closer to the markets than the virgin mills and forests.

Complicating this is the energy used by consumers in returning their recyclables to market, and in the local recycling centers where the stuff is cleaned up and sorted.

In conclusion, I think that it is best to do a little of both unfortunately bc a lot of one thing is very bad.

Answer 9

Honestly I'm not sure of the answer, but if you use renewable resources for your electricity I would go the shred then recycle route.  If you have a large amount of shredding you might be able to call a company that can take all of your boxes and shred them.

Answer 10

welli think it should be recycled becouse that means we reues things that we do not need no more

Answer 11

i think burning because electric companys send off more toxins into the air  but a little fire wont do much.

Answer 12

Well, the smoke from the fire also produces pollution.  I don't know the scientific answer, but imo, it is better to shred and recycle.

Answer 13

Paper (especially office paper) has limited recyclability.  If you're burning in a wood-burning stove or fuel-efficient fireplace to supplement your home heating, burning might be nearly as good.  But otherwise, I think you're better off shredding and recycling.  I wouldn't worry too much about the shredding; shredders don't really run that much electricity.