From wallpaper, toilet tissue, kitchen wipes, posters, newspapers, coffee filter paper, Amazon packages, to laminated worktops, books and sandwich bags; paper is one of the world’s most ubiquitous products. As we approach World Paper Day on the 1st November, our new Marketing Manager, Louise Rutherford, chooses her favourite 10 facts and figures about paper.
The History of Paper
- Paper is widely acknowledge to have been invented in China in 105 AD by Cai Lun in the court of the Han Dynasty.
- It took more than 1,000 years for paper to arrive in Europe where people had been writing on parchment made from the skins of cattle, goats and sheep.
Paper and the Environment
- 60% of the energy used to produce paper and paper packaging in Europe comes from renewable sources.
- The pulp, paper and print industry is Europe’s biggest industrial user of renewable energy.
- The paper recycling rate is 72%, making it one of the most recycled materials in the world.
The Paper Economy
- The world produces and uses approximately 400 million tonnes of paper and cardboard every year. More than half is packaging paper, while almost one third is graphic paper. SOURCE: Statista
- The market value of paper and pulp globally is expected to experience an increase between 2019 and 2024 to around 79.6 billion U.S. dollars. SOURCE: Statista
- The world’s three largest paper producing countries are China, the United States, and Japan, accounting for more than half of the world’s total paper production, while the leading paper importing and exporting countries are Germany and the United States. SOURCE: Statista
Paper and Covid19
- A team of scientists in India has developed an inexpensive paper-based test for coronavirus that could give fast results similar to a pregnancy test. Source: BBC
- The global packaging market size during the COVID-19 pandemic is projected to grow from USD 909.2 billion in 2019 to USD 1,012.6 billion by 2021. Increased demand is being attributed to FMCG and pharmaceutical packaging and rising e-commerce sales due to lockdown.
Source: pgpaper.com