Are really ebooks more environmentally friendly than paper books?

Faatimah Noormahomed · Post by **Faatimah Noormahomed** » 27 Jun 2022, 13:50

Such an interesting thread to read! I personally think that they both can be harmful to the environment, but i think that ebooks are less harmful than physical books are.

Sabahat Kamran · Post by **Sabahat Kamran** » 05 Jul 2022, 11:26

When it comes to the environment, there are pros and cons to both ebooks and physical books. I think people need to make the decision for themselves and others need to get off their high horses and stop judging others. I do agree that buying second-hand is a great way to get physical copies and do your bit for the environment. Here in the UK, I use a website called world of books, and they often have great quality second-hand books for great prices.

TusharJoshi · Post by **TusharJoshi** » 29 Jul 2022, 12:55

I don't think that there is a substantial difference between the two. Paperbacks are better to read, there is no doubt about that. Your choice shouldn't be affected by this though!

Hughes Davidson · Post by **Hughes Davidson** » 01 Sep 2022, 04:31

I believe ebooks are more ecologically friendly. You do not have to cut down so many tress to get 1000000 copies of that book out there.

Melissa Best · Post by **Melissa Best** » 15 Sep 2022, 16:28

If you read a large volume of books on a device that you already own, an argument could be made that you're saving the environment. Buying a device just to read books though is another story, and probably a negative one at that!

Nele Ma · Post by **Nele Ma** » 20 Sep 2023, 08:18

Yes, ebooks are generally more environmentally friendly than paper books due to reduced paper production and transportation emissions.

Carolina Katerina · Post by **Carolina Katerina** » 29 Sep 2023, 02:37

I prefer paper books, especially if I want to put bookmarks. In other cases, the ebooks are OK for me, but sometimes it is more difficult to see the screen outside.

Sameeha Ismail · Post by **Sameeha Ismail** » 21 Oct 2023, 22:18

I don't know about environmental friendly E-books, but paperbacks are eye friendly. Most of the books I read are softcopies and I can say with experience that despite the ease of use, e-books are hard to read, long term.

Ika Apo · Post by **Ika Apo** » 05 Dec 2023, 06:03

The waste that producing e-readers puts out is greater than that of chopping trees I think. I think the trees can be replanted.

George Okello 2 · Post by **George Okello 2** » 26 Aug 2024, 01:59

I think ebooks are more environmentally friendly than paperbooks because they save on cutting of trees.

Naghma Qureshi · Post by **Naghma Qureshi** » 06 Sep 2024, 14:38

Analu0309 wrote: ↑17 Apr 2021, 23:42 A lot of people think that it's obvious that paper books are worse for the environment bur we should have in mind that this is actually not true, ebooks and technology in general also affects our environment and not in a good way. I think we should think about other important aspects for example buying used books instead of new ones and also we should consider that paper is a much recyclable product than plastic and all the objects technology now days is made of. So instead of judging people who read paper books instead of ebooks, we should find alternative ways to help our environment and improve as a society.

I agree with you. There are concerns now about the degree to which electronic gadgets are environmentally friendly. I agree on encouraging the reuse of books. I often find a huge bookstore for buying used books in any city. It is such a rich resource. I always buy half a dozen or more books from there for myself and my kids.

Post by **Casandra Sicily** » 02 Jan 2025, 10:49

I am not sure of the pollution amount that is involved in the creation of the e-readers, but for sure we need to protect the trees we have.

Post by **Justin Christensen** » 04 Jan 2025, 20:20

This is a big question - at one point paper and the paper industry were definitely regarded as one of the biggest environmental "problem kids" out there because of their reliance on logging (watch Fern Gully for a very good 80's opinion on logging). Today I feel like paper is not under as much fire as commercial fishing and plastics generally, so many people would probably argue that physical books aren't that bad for the environment.

Then on the other hand, e-waste is becoming a major issue of its own, and the prevalence of cheap phones and e-readers adds to that. I think some current environmentalists might argue that e-readers could be just as bad for the environment as book printing.

All of this is to say - this is a complicated question that people probably have strong contradictory opinions about. If you want to make the most environmentally friendly choice, you will probably need to do some detailed research about the industries impacted by both formats and form your own opinion. Be prepared for someone to disagree with you though!