GREEN DIMES

There is something else that I saw for the first time on Oprah last spring. It was on the same show that I got the inspiration to “Go Green” in the first place. It is called GREEN DIMES. It is a company that is saving trees one piece of paper at a time. Have you ever thought about how much paper it wasted with all the junk mail you receive? Well here at our house, we get TONS of junk in the mail everyday. I have begun recycling what I can, but if I don’t even look at it what is the point of getting it in the first place.

Like I said I learned about Green Dimes about a year ago, and I have put it off until just yesterday. I finally decided to join. It is really simple you sign up for $20/ year and they will monitor your account every month. They will act on your behalf to remove your name from direct marketing lists. But the best part about it is that they will plant a tree for each catalog you opt-out of receiving. It is just a good and EASY way to save trees.

Facts on paper:

Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year in the U.S.

Americans use 85,000,000 tons of paper a year; about 680 pounds per person.

The average household throws away 13,000 separate pieces of paper each year. Most is packaging and junk mail.

Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds less of air pollution!

The 17 trees saved (above) can absorb a total of 250 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air each year. Burning that same ton of paper would create 1500 pounds of carbon dioxide.

The construction costs of a paper mill designed to use waste paper is 50 to 80% less than the cost of a mill using new pulp.