Paper Usage Grows Despite E-Mail

Predictions that e-mail would reduce the amount of paper used in business and at home are not coming true, says an alliance of paper manufacturers and users. According to the Alexandria, Va.-based PaperCom Alliance, U.S. paper use continues to swell even as more people go online. The American Forest and Paper Assn., Washington, D.C., reports that between 1990 and 1998, annual paper consumption rose from 86.8 million tons to 99 million tons. According to the U.S. Postal Service, mail volume rose from 166.4 billion pieces in 1992 to 199.9 billion in fiscal 1998. "Morning newspaper sales, the use of paper checks, and postal volume have all increased as Internet usage has expanded," says Maynard H. Benjamin, president of the PaperCom Alliance. "While the Internet and paper products will surely compete in some areas, the general pattern is one of mutual growth and interdependence."