Earth Month & Eco-friendly Books
- Owl Hollow Press
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 4
Writers and artists need readers’ support more than ever before, and great books are published every day. But is there a way we can enjoy the art and still be conscious of the impact these books have on the environment?
Since it’s Earth Month, we’ve decided to take a look!
Trees & Printed Books
According to UNESCO, approximately 2.2 million NEW print titles are published each year. That counts traditionally and self-published books, but it doesn’t count backlist titles, multi-million-copy bestsellers, and other titles that are still printing beyond their first year.
ISBN Database estimates that “…there are roughly 158,464,880 unique books in the world as of 2023.”
In direct correlation to the number of books in the world: “More than 200 million trees are cut down daily to make paper. This means that a tree is cut down every 2.5 seconds” (8billiontrees.com) and Ribble estimates that “a standard pine tree will produce around 10,000 sheets of paper.”
That’s a lot of books and a lot of sheets of paper and a lot of trees for printed books!
Other Eco-issues with Printed Books
Not to mention “…printing inks, varnishes, lacquers, moistening solutions and washing solvents, volatile organic compounds, and air pollutants…can cause photochemical smoke, air particles and ground level ozone emission in the atmosphere. The VOCs and heavy metals can lead to soil and even water pollution… and have negative effects on health and environment” (Aydemir and Özsoy).
In addition to the paper, inks, varnishes and solvents, we have the pollutants and waste associated with packaging, transporting, and distributing books.
When books don’t sell, bookstores usually only return the front cover and destroy the actual book. This saves on return shipping costs, but doesn’t account for entire books that are tossed in dumpsters. Some are recycled and donated, but many booksellers don’t want the expense of time and resources required to do more than haul them out to their back trash bins.
We Still Love Books!
But books are awesome, right? Yes, yes, they are. And we will continue to champion good books until our dying day. Even in print.
Don't worry. There are some simple ways readers can help!
Ways Readers Can Help
Buy used books
Check books out from libraries instead of buying
Recycle books for new readers: little free libraries are our favorites, but there are also thrift stores, yard sales, library and school donations, etc.
Read eBooks
Listen to audio books
Buy print-on-demand books—this makes a direct connection between reader and publisher/author with much less waste.
We’re personally big fans of print-on-demand (POD) books because a book is only printed when a reader makes that purchase. That means thousands of copies aren’t sitting in warehouses. It means fewer chemicals and paper and supplies are used to print unwanted books. It means that we can still champion great stories, but we can do it in a sustainable way!
As a reader, what are your favorite ways to make a positive impact on the (book) world?
Resources:
Aydemir, Cem and Özsoy, Samed Ayhan. “Environmental impact of printing inks and printing process.” Journal of Graphic Engineering and Design.
Giordano, Val. “How Many Books Are In The World?” ISBN Database. https://isbndb.com/blog/how-many-books-are-in-the-world/
“How Much Paper Comes From One Tree?” Ribble Packaging. https://ribble-pack.co.uk/blog/much-paper-comes-one-tree?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Kilgore, Georgette. “How Many Trees Are Cut Down Each Year for Paper?” 8 Billion Trees. https://8billiontrees.com/trees/how-many-trees-are-cut-down-each-year-for-paper/
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. https://www.unesco.org/en