Paper Recycling of South Korea and its Effects on Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Forest Conservation

摘要

The study evaluates the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential of paper recycling by paper industry in South Korea and determines the positive impact on global warming by conserving the world's forests through decreasing pulp wood use. South Korea is one of the leading countries in the world that recycle papers with a collection rate of 71.8 percent and a recycling rate of 74.4 percent in 2005. Greenhouse gas emission reduction potential in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent from paper recycling was assessed scientifically by the use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Three types of papers including newsprint, container-board, and white-board were used for assessment in this study. Results of this study indicate that CO2 emission reduction potential of recycling paper varies according to its types and recycling rates. Greenhouse gas emission reduction factor of 0.74869 tCO(2) per ton of recycled paper was derived from this study. In applying this factor, it was found out that the South Korean paper industry reduced GHG emission of around 6,364,550 tCO(2) by recycling paper in 2005. With this, the country's paper industry could claim that by recycling in that particular year, approximately 23.8 million m(3) of woods were not harvested and thus 212,500 ha of world's forests were estimated to be saved in that particular year. Overall, it could be concluded that the Korean paper industry was able to reduce CO2 emission and was able to conserve world's forests by its high rates of paper recycling.