Think it’s smaller? You’re wrong.
Let’s say it for anyone who wants a sustainable future: this kind of future is only possible if production relies on renewable raw materials and renewable energy. Ultimately, the product or service you end up with must be recycled or recyclable, and must fit within a circular economy.
In this respect, paper is the most advantageous material for a sustainable future. But that isn’t what we’re told. Electronic media is presented as “greener.” Why? Because electronic communication is, or can be, less costly. A significant part of what’s communicated in marketing on this topic is also mistaken. Ultimately, the claim that electronics are greener than paper remains a thesis put forward for economic reasons, not scientific ones.
Paper is more sustainable:
- It is produced from a renewable resource.
- Its production uses a lot of water, but 90% of it returns through treatment.
- Its production process uses carbon-balanced bioenergy.
- It is more recyclable than almost any other material.
Electronics, on the other hand, are not sustainable:
- Electronic devices and the servers that support them require raw materials from limited resources.
- Devices and servers rely on fossil fuels.
- Recycling of devices is limited, and they generate large amounts of landfill waste.
More than 88% of Türkiye’s population — over 77 million people — use the internet. Daily internet use exceeds seven hours per person. Globally, 5 billion people use the internet for the same amount of time (7 hours a day) as we do. Mobile internet usage in our country has approached 97%. 98% of Türkiye’s population owns a smartphone, 59% a smartwatch, and 63% a laptop or desktop computer. Average global social media use exceeds 2 hours per person.
All these devices — and the internet use underlying them — represent a very significant amount of electricity consumption. This isn’t just the electricity used to manufacture and run the devices themselves: servers, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency are projected next year to consume as much electricity as the entire country of Japan (125 million people). Congratulations — electronic communication has added another energy-hungry “country” to our world.
One more point worth noting: between 2022 and 2025, the number of internet users grew by 78%, and internet traffic grew by 600%.
Now we’ll leave the decision to you. Which is greener? Paper, or electronic communication?
The figures cited are sourced from the International Energy Agency, Nature Communications and GWI.