Strategy 3
Paper – The Impact of Recycling
Recycled Stock
Step 1 in paper conservation is eliminating waste by specifying presses and digital printers that minimize scrap. Step 2 is recycling. In 1990, 1.6 million tons of paper was recycled in the U.S. By 1996, the number had doubled to 3.8 million tons. In 2005, 51.5% of the paper consumed in the U.S. (51.3 million tons) was recovered and recycled. Paper recovery now averages 346 pounds for every man, woman and child in the U.S. Clearly both manufacturers and consumers are seeing the benefits of conservation.
A Renewable Resource
Trees used to produce paper are a renewable resource. Each time trees are harvested paper manufacturers immediately plant new trees to take their place. But it takes power to turn trees into paper, and that power is the product of non-renewable resources. So, any analysis of recycled paper has to address: (1) recycled content; (2) resources; and (3) power consumption.
Content
There are two varieties of recycled paper stock:
- Post-consumer waste is stock that has already been used, and has to be ‘de-inked’ at the mill to remove ink from previous printing. NOTE: de-inking creates sludge that requires disposal – another environmental challenge.
- Pre-consumer waste is stock that has never been used for print. It may be a bad batch of paper the mill couldn't sell, or waste trimmed from large sheets on 28” or 40” presses.
Resources
‘Recycled’ stock typically contains 30% post-consumer waste. Other options include:
- Environment PC 100 – 100% Post-Consumer Recycled stock (Neenah Papers)
- Evergreen 50/50 – 50% Bamboo, 50% Recycled (Fox River Papers)
It is important to note all 100% post-consumer stock is uncoated. Gloss stocks are typically limited to 10% recycled stock. If you need a gloss or semi-gloss sheet to help the color in your graphics ‘pop,’ there are some satin, matte or silk stocks available with up to 30% recycled content.
Power
Finally there is the issue of power consumed to produce paper. Some paper mills have begun promoting wind-powered stock. This does not mean the stock is produced using only wind-powered energy, but rather that wind-power is used to supplement the mill's power requirements.
FAQs
The subject of recycled paper raises many questions, and the websites for various paper mills provide an excellent resource. Some websites you may want to visit include:
- Neenah Paper: www.neenahpaper.com
- Wausau Paper: www.wausaupaper.com
- Mohawk Paper: www.mohawkpaper.com
- Sappi: www.sappi.com
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions that appear on the Neenah paper website:
Q. Why buy recycled paper?
A. Although the forest products industry continually plants new trees, it is environmentally sound to use recycled paper. Virgin paper uses between 2 and 4.4 tons of trees to produce 1 ton of pulp. Recycling removes about 1.4 tons of waste from landfills to produce 1 ton of recycled fiber. In addition, less water, fewer chemicals, and less energy are required to produce recycled paper.
Q. How much paper does the U.S. consume annually?
A. The U.S. consumes 100 million tons of paper annually.
Q. Why do we need virgin pulp? Why not simply recycle all paper?
A. Because reprocessed fibers eventually weaken and become unusable. Wood fibers can be recycled only four to seven times before they become too short and brittle to be made into new paper.
Q. How good is the quality of recycled paper?
A. Recycled papers (from Neenah Paper) meet the same brightness, opacity and technical specifications as (Neenah Paper's) virgin papers. Products are available in the same colors, weights and sizes as virgin paper. The only difference you might see, if you have very good eyes, is very small fines of dirt from de-inked fiber, and a very slight gray cast to the sheet.
Q. What should the choice be?
A. Some environmental organizations recommend the highest level of recycled, post-consumer content; others are more concerned about harvesting practices and recommend the Forest Stewardship Council Certification; still others promote the use of alternative crops such as bamboo or sugar cane.
Q. How do trees impact climate change?
A. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air and store it as carbon in the plant material and in the surrounding soil. During photosynthesis tree foliage also removes other chemicals from the atmosphere such as nitrogen oxides, airborne ammonia, some sulfur dioxide, and ozone that are part of the smog and greenhouse-effect problem.
Of course a tree's ability to offset carbon emissions is determined by averaging tree size, canopy cover, health and age. But large trees can help lower annual carbon emissions in the atmosphere by 2 to 3 percent. Over the last 300 years the activities of humans, such as burning fossil fuels and vegetation clearing, have led to a significant increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases trap long-wave radiation from the Earth's surface and heat the planet. Trees combat global warming by removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
Q. What is the Rainforest Alliance?
A. The Rainforest Alliance was established in 1987 with a mission to protect ecosystems, and the people and wildlife that depend on them, by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior.
Q. What is the Forest Stewardship Council?
A. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was founded by a diverse group of industry and environmental stakeholders, including the Rainforest Alliance, to develop a consistent, comprehensive and reliable set of third-party certification standards, and to ensure they are universally recognized. The Rainforest Alliance is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council, which they helped establish in 1993.
Q. What is SmartWood?
A. SmartWood is the certification arm of the Rainforest Alliance, and is accredited by the FSC. SmartWood has 12 regional offices, and works with land owners and managers in more than 50 countries to ensure the wood and pulp they harvest comes from sustainable, managed forests where wildlife and wildlands are protected, and workers and neighboring communities are treated with respect. FSC certification is carried out by SmartWood's global network of offices and partners, as well as other certifiers.
Q. What is the mission of the Forest Certification Council?
A. The mission of the Forest Certification Council is to promote and enhance well-managed forests through credible certification that is environmentally responsible, socially acceptable, and economically viable.
Q. What is Chain of Custody Certification as it pertains to the Forest Stewardship Council?
A. Chain of Custody (COC) certification is a system to track paper throughout its life-cycle from forest to point-of-sale.
Q. What does it mean to be carbon neutral?
A. Being carbon-neutral involves calculating your total climate-damaging carbon emissions, reducing them where possible, and balancing your remaining emissions, often by purchasing ‘carbon offsets.’
Q. What is a Carbon Credit?
A. For every ton of carbon dioxide a company is unable to eliminate, it can pay for one ton to be reduced somewhere else in the World. Carbon emissions are thus counterbalanced by carbon savings.
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Index - Conservation by Design