Almost everyday I see a new commercials saying “No more plastic, we switched to paper [straws/bags/whatever]!” I understand that it’s good to not use plastic, but won’t this contribute to cutting down more trees and hurt our environment as well?

Question

Almost everyday I see a new commercials saying “No more plastic, we switched to paper [straws/bags/whatever]!” I understand that it’s good to not use plastic, but won’t this contribute to cutting down more trees and hurt our environment as well?

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

I work for a paper company and we only harvest trees in sustainable methods regardless of whether or not the final product requires the chain of custody certification. Our facilities are in the UP of Michigan. We only cut into a forest once every 15 years. We cut rows about 20 feet wide (the width of the harvester) and trim the logs on site to feed the forest floor. We allow nature to fill back the space to provide a mixed forest habitat. Roads, farms, etc have stopped fires in those areas so thinning these forests occasionally is crucial to their health. We are also clearing out the monoculture forests that we’re planted as cash crops in the last century. Typically our timber rights contracts are for 100 years.