To ask why people don't worry about paper/cutting down trees anymore?

[Wayfair2020]

So I understand plastic is bad for the environment and why we are trying to cut down on this. But I can't understand why they are trying to replace plastic bags with paper bags, or plastic water bottles with paper based water bottles. It didn't seem long ago that we were urged to save paper because of the environment and and saving trees.

Are we not just swapping one problem for another and going round in a circle?

Genuinely interested in the reasons behind this. I suddenly got thinking about it at 3am when I couldn't sleep

I think because a lot of the trees used now are from sustainable forestry, so they’re replaced. No massive areas are being cleared for the actual wood anymore. Now the forests are being cleared in order to replace it with farmland so a lot more people are trying to eat less meat.

Paper can be recycled many many times (far more times than plastic) and also biodegrades rapidly. And sustainable forestry is much more advanced now as a source of raw materials.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t reduce unnecessary paper use - lots of companies have taken huge leaps in print reduction for instance; my employer has a very clear ‘digital first’ policy and we’re almost paperless in the office - but paper is preferable to plastic in environmental terms.

Totally agree. It's often grossly wasted. I often wonder why toothpaste, cereal, some pastas, pizzas etc are packaged in totally unnecessary cardboard boxes.

We've just remortgaged and recieved two huge packs of stuff through the post (one each for me and dh joint mortgage) which they could have emailed. It's crazy.

School sent out large fancy reports too... x 2000 children! An email one would be absolutely fine unless a paper one is requested.

So much waste.

Because the recycling paper was pushed a few years ago. So it’s thought as problem solved. Instead it’s the push for sups and people believe folk can only handle thinking about recycling one type of rubbish at a time

I think there is a lot of paper waste. But it is many times better than plastic.

Because the sustainable forestry for paper industry is well established now. The old growth ancient forests were cleared before we had enough awareness and cannot return. The trees we now plant for paper are not of the same value and are more like a farm for wood pulp. New trees planted for every one cut. Also paper is economically recycled and recycled paper easy to get. All our printer paper and toilet paper at home is 100% recycled.