The Water You Didn't Know You Were Wasting

We're all for recycling. It's obviously better than a landfill. But here's a truth that doesn't get as much attention: recycling paper still consumes a significant amount of resources, including thousands of gallons of water.

The Hidden Cost of Recycling

Recycling one ton of paper requires approximately 7,000 gallons of water. That's not a typo. Most estimates range from 3,000 to 12,000 gallons, depending on the facility and the type of paper.

Where does all that water go? 

• Pulping the paper into fibers  
• Removing ink and coatings  
• Washing away contaminants  
• Reforming the slurry into new paper sheets

As you can see, there are many steps involved. Now, is all this helpful? Most certainly. Efficient? Not entirely. Good for the environment? Yes, but we can do better.

Why Reclaimed Paper is the Better Option

Reclaimed paper, the kind we use at Resketch, is usable paper rescued before it ever enters the waste stream. Think of unused and unwanted overprinted sheets, blank back pages, or printer misfires and blueprints. We save it and turn it into beautiful notebooks without running it through a recycling process at all.

That means zero pulping, zero de-inking, zero water used, and zero guilt (well, for this anyway)

Saving Water, Energy, and Fiber Life

Reclaiming not only saves water but also reduces the energy required for recycling and transportation. Additionally, it preserves the quality of paper fiber, which deteriorates with each recycling cycle, and delays entry into the industrial process entirely. Essentially, reclaiming paper buys time, giving each sheet another opportunity for usefulness before it undergoes the rinse-and-repeat of actual recycling.

The Bottom Line

Recycling is important and well-intentioned, but reclaiming paper is better. It's cleaner, smarter, and significantly more resource-friendly. It's the sustainable option that avoids water and chemically intensive processing, allowing creativity to flow freely.

So, next time you crack open a Resketch notebook, remember this: you're saving untold gallons of water with every turn of the page.