# How many sheets of paper from a single tree?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-sheets-of-paper-from-a-single-tree/65095
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 11, 2001, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-sheets-of-paper-from-a-single-tree/65095 "2001-05-11T14:14:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2001, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-sheets-of-paper-from-a-single-tree/65095/1 "2001-05-11T14:14:52Z")
I get a good number of faxes every week at work. So many that I sometimes wonder how many trees I have wasted because I look at most of these faxes for 2 seconds and throw it away. (in the recycle bin) So I started thinking about it and I realized that although I know paper comes from trees I know almost nothing else about the process. What kind of trees are used? How big are they typically when they are harvested. How long did it take to grow? And finally how many 8.5 by 11 sheets of paper come from your typical tree?
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### Author:  [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2001, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-sheets-of-paper-from-a-single-tree/65095/2 "2001-05-11T14:49:24Z")
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> What kind of trees are used?
From [Willamette Industries](http://www.willametteind.com):
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> Hardwood trees (like oak and birch) make great bathroom and facial tissue.
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> Softwood trees (like pine and fir) are used where strength is required. Grocery bags and corrugated boxes are made predominately of softwood fiber. Printing and writing papers require a mix of hardwood and softwood fiber.
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> How long did it take to grow?
From [Paper Unversity](http://www.tappi.org/paperu/welcome.htm):
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> It takes from 10 - 20 years for trees to grow until they are large enough for harvesting.
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> How big are they typically when they are harvested[?]
From [Paper Unversity](http://www.tappi.org/paperu/welcome.htm):
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> Only about one-third of the fiber used to make paper in the U.S. is from whole trees, which the industry calls round wood. It is not considered economical to use large logs for paper when they could instead be used for lumber. For this reason, only trees smaller than 8 inches in diameter, or larger trees not suitable for solid wood products, typically are harvested for papermaking.
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> And finally how many 8.5 by 11 sheets of paper come from your typical tree?
From [Boyse Cascade’s website](http://www.bc.com):
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> Since trees are different sizes, we can’t tell you how much paper comes from an average tree. We can tell you how much comes from a cord of wood, which is a pile of wood 4 feet x 4 feet x 8 feet, or 128 cubic feet of wood. One cord of wood makes 89,870 sheets of letterhead bond paper. One cord also makes 2,700 copies of a 35-page newspaper.