Killing newspapers

Every once in a while the issue of the environmental impact of newspapers comes up, as in the case of this headline at Editor’s Weblog: UK: Freesheets must clean up costs or face ban.

The report, from London, says that unless two evening freesheets contribute to a £500,000 clean-up bill, they’ll be banned in Westminster. According to the site, an additional three tonnes of waste is generated each day by the freesheets London Paper and London Lite.

The litter problem isn’t unique to the freesheets that have sprung up in the last couple of years — although they’ve added to it. Before them, in the urban areas, there were dozens of free weekly giveaways, not all of which made it to the recycling bins.

I’m wondering, idly perhaps but wondering nevertheless, if environmental concerns will play a role in the eventual demise of print.

It’s not just free newspapers. In 2003 (the latest year I could find figures for), the City of Vancouver’s recycling program dealt with 37 tonnes of newsprint and mixed paper, paid for by user fees levied on residents. At least a portion of that newsprint went into the recycling unread (all those daily sections with limited readership; the local community newspaper that goes from front door to back without a pause in between; the pages and page of unread flyers.)

There’s a huge cost to the aftermath of newspapering: the disposal and recycling of all that newsprint, and the freesheet litter problem as seen in London and other cities is the tip of a sizable iceberg. The costs associated with it are largely borne by residents, either through taxes or user fees. A half-humourous question: Is it possible we will reach a point when the majority of residents, non-subscribers, refuses to foot the recycling bill for the subscribing minority?

Fortunately for the industry, it’s an issue that pops up only once in a while and only in limited circumstances (the freesheet issue in London for example). If it ever gains traction, though….

TAGS: NEWSPAPERS, ENVIRONMENT, RECYCLING