Do you know if we use less paper per capita than we did before?

Question

Last night i was arguing with a friend that I think people use less paper per capita now and it will continue to do so b/c the world is becoming more paperless it seems. For example, i dont recieve any bills or statements in the mail anymore b/c I pay them online and choose not to even have them sent b/c I dont even open them. And of course many other things electronics have replaced that used to be paper such as journals, diaries, letters, ect..

If anyone could provide me a link or something that shows whether we are consuming more or less per capita than in the past, it would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I recall an old cartoon that showed an office before and after the introduction of computers. Before there were little piles of paper in neat in and out boxes on clean desks. In the after picture, it was giant piles of computer printouts and manuals everywhere, with no clean desk in sight. Computers produce more paper, not less.

Answer 2

The amt of paper used for print per person has more than doubled from 1983 to 2003.

Answer 3

A very small percentage of the public do their bills online. The population of the World is increasing at a steady rate; which means more mail, more birthday cards, more butts to wipe.