Human Society Viewed from the Perspective of 3R-Eco Activities and Environmental Measures: Part Ⅱ: Relationships between the Use of Waste Paper, Recycling of Used Paper, and Environmental Burden

摘要

Recycling is one of the eco-activities that have been aggressively promoted in recent years. Recycling of plastic bottles, cans, and paper is particularly common in Japan. However, there have been changes in the use of waste paper and recycling of used paper over the past few years as society and the paper industry change. The present study discussed recycling of paper in Japan, focusing on effective paper recycling activities and their methods. The results suggest that the efficacy of paper recycling is high when products using low-quality recycled paper are required. Waste sheets and other paper that could be easily recycled were useful resources. Although high-quality paper products require virgin pulp, waste paper serves as a valuable resource when it is used for low-quality paper products, such as cardboard and magazines. However, the recycling of paper does not directly reduce the environmental burden. The study results also suggest that the environmental burden is not reduced as expected because of significant differences in the processes of producing paper using recycled and virgin pulp. The present study discussed the "effective and efficient use of waste paper" and "relationship between paper recycling and the environmental burden" based on the results of a market price survey involving recycled paper products and recent trends in the paper industry. The results suggest that the recycling of paper is effective if waste paper is used appropriately.