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Re:In a warming world, New England’s trees are storing more ... by jcranmer on Tuesday August 04, 2020 @10:00PM (#24056553)
> (Trees also provide building materials - what a great way to sequester carbon!)

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but maybe companies should brand non-recycled paper products as carbon-sequestered paper instead, and tell people to send it to landfill rather than recycle it for maximum sequestration purposes.

Re:In a warming world, New England’s trees are storing more ... by fiblye on Wednesday August 05, 2020 @01:27AM (#24057529)
So long as it's from sustainably farmed trees.

Every time I see a pack of paper, it proudly says "MADE IN INDONESIA." So long as cheap paper made from clear-cut rainforests and monkey massacres exists, I think I'd rather stick to (somewhat) locally recycled, even if it's not a perfect solution.

Re:In a warming world, New England’s trees are storing more ... by OldHand2018 on Wednesday August 05, 2020 @09:57AM (#24060770)
Where are you located? I have a bale of cheap office paper next to my desk, and each ream says "Made in USA, please recycle" on it.
Re:In a warming world, New England’s trees are storing more ... by schoen on Tuesday August 04, 2020 @10:34PM (#24056719)
Landfill might not be totally ideal because if it decomposes there, some of the carbon may eventually leave the landfill if gas is able to escape.

I wonder if we should compost paper instead of recycling it? Or try to vitrify it?

Re:In a warming world, New England’s trees are storing more ... by mytailorisrich on Wednesday August 05, 2020 @03:18AM (#24058096)
Paper, like trees, is carbon neutral in the sense that carbon is absorbed then released. Zero net addition to the atmosphere.

Forests can be used to sequester carbon because of the large number of trees continuously in existence even if individual trees come and go.

For paper, the sequestration angle is more dubious but should also be considered based on the total amount of paper continuously in existence, not on the longevity of a single sheet of paper.

Re:In a warming world, New England’s trees are storing more ... by riffraff on Wednesday August 05, 2020 @02:23AM (#24057832)
you can compost paper, but a lot of it is treated and doesn't decompose very well. E.g. we have a compost heap in our building's garden and someone keeps putting bits of paper bags there, which last years unless you proactively go and try to break them up.

Also, wouldn't composting it release as much carbon as putting it in landfill? And landfills are bad in many ways.

Recycling it seems a better idea.

Re:In a warming world, New England’s trees are storing more ... by sp332 on Wednesday August 05, 2020 @09:03AM (#24060324)
Removing oxygen prevents decomposition. My home town found out the hard way when they took samples from an old landfill, expecting to be able to build a park over it. Clay layers had been added to prevent runoff into a nearby river, and as a result the newspapers were still readable decades later.