Paper Industry aims to rectify misconceptions about paper usage

Paper industry celebrated Paper Day on August 1 by launching an awareness campaign on environment friendliness of paper as against several alternate materials. The campaign titled "Paper is Green" endeavoured to correct several myths regarding the usage of paper.

According to Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA), paper is perhaps the only material that is biodegradable, renewable, recyclable and sustainable. Increased use of paper and paperboard in education, packaging and sanitation is also much more environment-friendly, and needs to be promoted vigorously. Celebration of Paper Day offered an opportunity to spread the increased relevance of use of paper in present times.

During the campaign on Paper Day, paper industry ambassadors reached out to people at market places, parking lots, malls, metro stations and other public places and apprised them about sustainability of paper. Booklets on myths and realities regarding paper were distributed.

"A myth is being created by certain interests that use of paper implies cutting of forests. This is not the case at all, especially in India. The wood for manufacturing of paper comes from cultivated trees grown by farmers. Paper Industry in India is not a forest based industry rather it is an agro based and rural based industry in India. Industry has been joining forces with farmers to grow more and more trees under agro / farm forestry," said Saurabh Bangur, IPMA President.

According to IPMA, growing and harvesting trees by Paper Industry is providing jobs for lakhs of farmers in rural areas. Currently, agro forestry initiative of Paper Industry spreads across 9,00,000 hectares and around 90 per cent of the demand for wood by the industry is sourced from industry driven agro forestry.

Extensive R&D has been undertaken to produce disease and drought resistant tree saplings which can be grown in different agro climatic conditions. About 5 lakh farmers are productively employed in this agro forestry initiative. No other industry in the country has undertaken this kind of work on such a major scale and in different parts of the country.

"Encouraging farmers to grow trees helps in enhancing the country's green cover, carbon sequestration and mitigating the harmful effects of climate change. Usage of paper is thus good for the environment," added Saurabh.