See when an e-reader’s manufacture is paid back versus buying the same titles on paper.
| Paper total | – |
| Break-even books | – |
| Lower CO₂e | – |
Use this calculator if you read a lot and wonder whether a Kindle-style device beats a stack of paperbacks on carbon — manufacture only, not charging.
Paper total is books × 1 kg CO₂e each. Break-even is the e-reader’s kg divided by 1 kg per book. If you would buy at least that many, the reader wins on this simple ledger. You can enter the device mass in kilograms (kg) or pounds (lb). Device footprints vary a lot; use-phase electricity is ignored.
Books you would buy: How many paper books you would otherwise buy. A heavy reader might be 20 a year.
E-reader manufacture: Carbon to make the device, once, in kg or lb CO₂e. 40 kg is a manufacture ballpark.
Paper total: Carbon of those paper books.
Break-even books: How many paper titles pay back the device.
Lower CO₂e: Which path wins on this ledger.
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