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Information, stories and myths relating to trees.

tree stories for the wooden hearted

Forests of Paper

 


Most of the paper used in Britain comes from someone else's forest, especially those of Canada and Scandinavia. Since it is a major import item, companies in the British Waste Paper Association make a significant contribution to our balance of payments by the coltction, processing and return of 11 million tons of scrap paper to the manufacturers each year, making a saving of £66 million on our import bill.

About 450 local authorities contribute a further 400,000 tons a year and the total waste paper collected amounts to about one-third of the annual consumption of paper and board.


Over the past few years the demand for paper has slumped and consequently stocks of waste paper have built up and the price has fallen. Fluctuation in supply and demand, and thus in prices, continually affects the paper industry but demand is already increasing so that higher prices will be paid in the coming years. Overall demand however is continually growing and further development of the market must look towards domestic sources to supply this increase. Better techniques of de-inking newspaper have already been developed and installed and this has added to the capacity of waste paper that can be handled by mills.


Most household paper products can be recycled but the easiest to handle is newsprint because there is usually a regular supply and it is of uniform quality, free of contaminants such as plastic coating or metal staples. A 40- inch stack of newspapers, folded to half-webpages size when you finish with them, weighs 100 pounds. Since a ton of newsprint represents pulp from about 17 mature trees, recycling a stack of newspapers about 50 inches high saves almost one tree.

 

Recycling a ton of newsprint also eliminates a major proportion of the other environmental problems associated with producing new pulp. It also reduces the 10,000 gallons of water and 1,500 kWh of electricity required to produce one ton of newspaper pulp. Other paper made by the sulphite pulping process requires 275 pounds of sulphur, 350 pounds of limestone, 60,000 gallons of water, 9,000 pounds of steam and 250 kilowatt hours of electricity per ton of unbleached pulp.


If your local authority does not collect newspapers or cardboard find out why and encourage them to do so. If they already do, then make sure you separate yours and leave it beside the dustbin. Make sure your neighbours do the same or offer to help the local council by visiting, explaining and encouraging more people to separate their waste paper properly.


If you want to start collecting newspaper for salvage when your local authority does not want it there are plenty of local waste paper merchants who will take it from you It is best to combine your papers with other people's or find a scout group or voluntary organization that will take it. Some merchants have a scheme whereby a skip or trailer is left for you to load and then it is picked up when full.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ash trees

Ash trees threatened

Forestry Commission England warns of threat posed by the Chalara fraxinea fungus

 

Enviroment and helping UK Forests

National Tree Week event - Take part in tree planting in East Park, Wolverhampton

Woodland Craft

Woodland Craft
Join the Park Rangers for some woodland management and crafts including coppicing

Community Trees

Community Tree Planting
Join in a planting at Brent River Park of over 400 trees

 

More from the web on trees

About Me

 

 

 

The Woodland Trust

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/

The UK's leading woodland conservation charity. Help us plant trees, protect woods and inspire people to enjoy the nature on their doorstep.

Local UK big trees from The Tree Register www.treeregister.org/

UK big trees, a record of ancient and historical tree information in the Britich Isles from The Tree Register.

 

Native Tree List UK www.the-tree.org.uk/

Native Tree List UK. talk@the-tree.org.uk.

 

Tree nursery UK - buy trees online

www.tree-shop.co.uk/

One of the longest established silvicultural tree nurseries in the UK, with over 6 million traceable native trees available to buy online for delivery across the UK.

Recommended reading

Forestry Commission - tree name trail

www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-5G2KV3

A key to common trees found in Britain. Trees can be divided into two main groups: those that have flattened and wide leaves (known as broadleaves) and those ...

Arboricultural Association

www.trees.org.uk/

Promotes care and knowledge of trees in the UK. Details of activities, members, and journal.

 

English Oak Trees

Information about English Oak trees, the beginning of the encyclopedia of life starting with the English Oak Tree, The Oaks life history, their conservation and ...

 

Trees for Life

www.treesforlife.org.uk/

A Scottish conservation charity dedicated to the regeneration and restoration of the Caledonian Forest in the Highlands of Scotland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hampton Court Flower Show

I went along to the Hampton Court Flower Show this year and was stunned to discover that a visit there could make the sick well again. Well, maybe not. However, I did see people, who had spent all day being pushed around in a wheelchair, up walking and pushing their own wheelchairs.

The impetus for this was, of course, the great sell off at the close of the show. Father was walking through the show ground cradling his baby in his arms, whilst mother followed with the pushchair laden with plants. Granny, who had benefited from resting in her wheelchair as she moved around the show, found it was an ideal way to get her lilies and agapanthus back to the carpark. Once out of the showground the sights were enough to make a gardener cringe, trees, agapanthus, eremurus and lilies sticking out of the sun roofs of dozens of cars on their way to the M3.

Other had folded up plants as best they could so that they would travel on the bus and underground. Then there is the safe bet that many of the plants acquired will not have been planted for several days, nor watered, nor put out of the sun. When will people learn that a bargain is only a bargain if you can get the plant home alive and in one piece... otherwise it is just so much compost.

More at Hampton Court Flower Show