Sweeping judgments about spam

“This works against the printing industry and the people who work there,” says Þorkell Sigurlaugsson, a business administrator and chairman of the Independence Party's welfare committee, in an opinion piece in Morgunblaðið on Saturday, August 15th, regarding the City of Reykjavík's initiative to send stickers to city residents offering them the chance to opt out of junk mail and contribute to reduced paper consumption.

“Recently, a piece of junk mail arrived in my mailbox with a sticker that said, ‘Opt out of junk mail and contribute to reduced paper consumption.’ At first, I thought the mailing was from Iceland Post and part of their savings campaign to reduce deliveries and lower costs. But then I saw it was marked from the City of Reykjavík,” says Þorkell, who adds that upon further investigation, he saw a news story about the junk mail on the City of Reykjavík's website on July 10th.

The initiative is not for the benefit of the environment

“It stated that the City of Reykjavík is distributing stickers to residents' homes that allow them to opt out of unaddressed junk mail by placing a sticker on their mailbox. ‘This way, people can contribute to a reduced use of resources, due to paper, printing, and distribution, and due to the collection and recycling of the paper,’ as stated by the City of Reykjavík. It is possible to choose from three types of stickers depending on what is being opted out of and the number of free newspapers desired.”

Þorkell says various questions have arisen about the initiative and argues his doubts that the initiative is for the benefit of the environment. “Is it not reducing the opportunities for companies and individuals to advertise their services when the City of Reykjavík encourages individuals to close off an important channel of information?

When discussing the sustainability of paper and the printing industry, it is important to look at the various sweeping generalizations that are made about paper. The paper industry is a global leader in sustainable sourcing, renewable energy, and high recycling rates,” Þorkell points out, referring to a new information booklet published this spring by the Federation of Icelandic Industries, IÐAN Education Centre, printing companies within the Federation of Icelandic Industries, the trade union Grafía, and paper importers. The booklet is titled “Sweeping Generalizations and Facts about Paper and Print.”

Sweeping Generalizations and Facts about the Printing Industry

The booklet reviews the following sweeping generalizations and facts about the printing industry and paper:

• Sweeping Generalization: Paper use involves a lot of waste.
  Fact: Paper is one of the most recycled products in the world.
  
• Sweeping Generalization: Paper is bad for the environment.
  Fact: Paper is one of the few truly sustainable products.
  
• Sweeping Generalization: Paper production is a cause of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
  Fact: The energy used for production in this country is mostly renewable.
  
• Sweeping Generalization: Electronic communication is better for the environment than paper-based communication.
  Fact: Electronic communication also has a significant impact on the environment.
  
• Sweeping Generalization: Digital technology is the preferred mode of communication.
  Fact: Many consumers highly value communication on paper.
  

Environmentally friendly printing industry

Þorkell correctly mentions that the printing industry has been struggling and that a large part of book printing has moved abroad. “Most printing companies in Iceland have Nordic Swan Ecolabel certification, and all printing companies in the Federation of Icelandic Industries are environmentally certified. No industry in Iceland is as environmentally certified as the printing industry.

Only the top part of the tree, about 13%, is used in the paper industry, and the rest is used for eco-friendly houses, furniture, and energy consumption. In one year, one tree absorbs an average of 22 kg of carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. When one tree is felled for the paper industry, at least three are planted in its place.

Commercial forests grow faster, thus managing to release more oxygen into the atmosphere while also reducing carbon dioxide. Like trees, paper absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and releases oxygen. If we reduce paper consumption, there will be less incentive for forest farmers to plant, and then carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will increase and oxygen will decrease.”

IKEA offered a special sticker for the mailbox

He says direct mail is an important and powerful advertising medium. “This applies, for example, to substantial product catalogues like the IKEA catalogue, which is distributed as unaddressed mail. Also Bókatíðindi [Book Tidings], which is distributed shortly before Christmas. IKEA has had to resort to offering a special sticker for the mailbox if people want to receive the IKEA brochure. By working against unaddressed mail, the public is being prevented from receiving interesting and even important information from various companies and organisations,” Þorkell points out, adding that it would be better if the City of Reykjavík utilised the opportunity that lies in distributing information on paper to residents of individual neighbourhoods.

Internet use causes environmental impact

“It would be a step towards increased resident democracy and better dissemination of information to the public, for example, regarding changes to local plans or other planning matters.”

Þorkell also points to the fact that internet use also has an impact on the environment.

“About 4.3 billion people, or 60% of the world's population, use the internet. Internet use causes almost 4% of total greenhouse gas emissions, which is similar to that of air travel in a normal year. A lot of useful information about the carbon footprint of internet use can be found on the BBC website. See: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think “

And he mentions a particularly interesting example of energy consumption.

“As an example of energy consumption, the song Despacito by Justin Bieber from 2017 has been played 6.8 billion times on YouTube, and the energy consumption for that is equivalent to the energy consumption of about 55,000 households in the United States in one year,” says Þorkell, adding that video streaming causes significant greenhouse gas emissions.

“It is divided roughly into three parts: 1/3 is due to Netflix and similar streaming services https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-what-is-the-carbon-footprint-of-streaming-video-on-netflix. Then about 1/3 is due to YouTube, movies and the like, and 1/3 is due to streaming pornography. The public needs more education on how to reduce the carbon footprint of internet use. For example, company employees could be advised to send ‘links’ via email within companies, rather than sending the entire file. With a regular email, the carbon footprint is only 4 g of CO2, but if a picture is sent with it, it can be about 50 g of CO2, and video streaming causes much higher greenhouse gas emissions.”

Crucial for foresters

And finally, Þorkell urges readers to remember that paper consumption, and thus printing on paper, is crucial for foresters. Its use is part of the cycle needed to keep sustainable development going.
“The following can be said about paper and its use:

• • The recycling rate for paper and cardboard in Iceland in 2018 is higher than in most of our neighbouring countries, at around 93%. For comparison, the recycling rate for plastic in Iceland is about 56% (Environment Agency of Iceland, 2020).

• • According to a European study, consumers prefer to read the printed version of books (72%), magazines (72%), and newspapers/news (55%) rather than the digital version (www.twosides.info/consumer-choice/).

• • An ever-increasing proportion of paper is produced from sustainable forests, and no paper is produced from rainforest trees.

• • Deforestation is not caused by the paper industry. The paper and printing industry is responsible and sustainable.

Food for thought for readers before you opt out of unaddressed mail! You could miss out on useful information. By using paper, we promote the cultivation of commercial forests and thus do our part in the fight against climate change. Forests offer significant opportunities for carbon sequestration through increased cultivation and better management. All of this matters for our future well-being.”