Wrapping It Up

There's nothing like the holidays to really crank up the paper frenzy. And a frenzy it is: 20 years after the advent of the computer age, Americans use more paper than ever. Though we constitute only five percent of the global population, we consume 30 percent of its paper, according to the Worldwatch Institute. And although a record 45 percent of our paper supply was recovered for recycling last year, we still trash more paper annually than is consumed by all of the people in China. 

December offers no relief to the world's forests--there are suddenly hundreds of cards to mail and presents to wrap. It's no surprise there's a lengthy paper trail: According to Liz Borkowski, Co-op America's WoodWise program manager, we gobble 25 percent more paper between Thanksgiving and January 1 than any other time of year. "Our paper consumption right now is unsustainable," she says.

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