1.  Cardboard, loose-leaf reams, newspapers, gloss paper, and printer paper are all common products made from the material we know as paper.
2. In 2018, the total generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2018 in the United States was 292.4 million tons, and this number has been increasing for years.  The largest portion of this 292.4 million is due to paper and paperboard, making up 23.05%, or 67,390,000 tons. The total amount of MSW recycled in 2018 was 69 million tons.  Paper and paperboard accounted for essentially 2/3 of that amount with a total 45,970,000 tons. In comparison, Austria, one of the world’s leaders in recycling, recycles nearly 80% of paper products.  In fact, in Austria, more waste paper is reused than new paper is consumed.  More than 1 million tonnes of waste paper is imported to Austria each year to cover the demand.
3. Reusing recycled paper saves energy because energy isn’t being exerted to create new paper products from trees and plants.  Recycling one ton of paper equals out to saving enough energy to power an average U.S. home for 6 months, and it also saves roughly 7,000 gallons of water. This is because the number of steps and water usage is decreased in recycling paper rather than creating new paper from trees. If that’s just for one ton of paper being recycled, we can imagine the drastic effect that recycling paper on a grand scale has on saving energy.
4. The recycling rate for paper is high compared to other materials because in my opinion, it’s simple and well known.  Teachers and educators push for paper to be recycled and not thrown away when children are young.  I think that it’s more infused in the American mind that paper can be recycled, as opposed to other recyclable materials.  If such initiative is shown towards other materials as there is towards paper, there could be different results in the future.

Bibliography:

Blue, Marie-Luise. “The Advantages of Recycling Paper.” Education, 29 Sept. 2016, education.seattlepi.com/advantages-recycling-paper-3440.html.

Earth Media Partners. “Everything You Need to Know About Paper Recycling.” Earth911, 17 Feb. 2021, earth911.com/business-policy/paper-recycling-details-basics/.

EPA. “National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 28 Jan. 2021, www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials#recycling.

General Kinematics. “U.S. Recycling Facts Compared to Other Countries.” General Kinematics, General Kinematics, 16 Sept. 2019, www.generalkinematics.com/blog/recycling-facts-us-compared-to-others/.