Global paper consumption is expected to grow by 50 percent by 2040. Recycling will not save forests. In 1991, the world consumed about 255,674,000 tons of paper. The US accounted for 85,252,000 tons - 674 pounds for every man, woman and child. Total US paper consumption increases by about 14 million tons annually.
Paper is the dominant material in solid waste.
According to Maureen Smith, author of The US Paper Industry and Sustainable Production, methane from the world's landfills may account for anywhere from 3 to 19 percent of global methane releases, with the US accounting for 39 percent of the total. While methane is less prevalent in the atmosphere than CO2 it is a much stronger greenhouse gas. US pulpmills consume 12,430 square miles of forests each year. An estimated 120 billion tons of carbon were released into the atmosphere between 1850 and 1990 as a result of deforestation. Forest loss from 1980 through 1990 alone released 1.6 billion tons.