Environmental performance is starting to be scrutinised as much as financial performance in the marketplace. It would seem this trend is following a general leaning in the community towards “being green”. For some it’s being trendy but “ being green” or “being responsible” has pervaded community mentality to the point of being a lifestyle choice. During the past 8 years of printing in Byron Bay I have seen the choice of recycled paper products go from some pretty bad recycled paper which sometimes actually had bits of garbage still attached (which invariably would destroy a print jacket whilst printing), to the current extensive selection of beautiful recycled paper products.
“Being green” has moved from the “hippy” type persona to the average business and corporation. Most of the population it seems, are keen to do their bit if given the right choices. In researching the whole topic of environmental issues facing the printing industry I have found that it is not only beneficial to use recycled paper but, that it can also be just as beneficial to use the correct papers which have been manufactured from environmentally certified mills using eco friendly production methods, even though they may be made from virgin pulp.
There is an enormous amount of confusion and lack of understanding for consumers at all levels, corporations to private citizens. I have put together the basics in hopes that you will be able to draw some further understanding and enable youself to make more informed decisions on your printing purchase.
Doing our part
We use soy seed based process inks, low volatile organic compound solvents, recyclable aluminium printing plates and our film and chemical waste is recycled as well as all of our waste card and papers. We offer an extensive range of recycled and mill certified paper and card. I have compiled our paper samples at Print Solutions to show the percentage of recycled material, the bleaching codes and the certification of the mill the product was produced from. In putting my samples together I have focused upon Australian products wherever possible as I feel very strongly that we should all be supporting our Australian made products first and foremost.
Update
These environmental and 'green printing' initiatives have won Print Solutions a very prestigeous award. See the Environmental Award News Article
Australians write, read, scribble, type, print or shred their way through thousands of tonnes of paper every year. In fact, without recycling Australia's cities and towns would be smothered under a mountain of waste paper many times over. Thanks to extensive recycling campaigns and public awareness programs, the Australian population is now recognising the benefits of recycling paper and many other products. The waste paper recycling process requires only half the water and replaces the 17 trees required to produce a tonne of virgin pulp. Turning waste paper into paper products, such as cartonboard, instead of using virgin pulp saves energy and reduces air and water pollution.
Recycling paper has been practised for many decades in Australia and over 50% of all of Australia's paper products are derived from recycled material.Uncontaminated office waste paper and computer paper is preferred for recycling because it is clean and usually of high quality.
Types of paper produced in Australia include cardboard, packaging, newsprint, plaster board, a range of industrial papers, tissues and a number of printing and writing papers. There are more than 70 different types of paper produced here with a wide range of uses
How is paper recycled?
A paper bin that is put out for recycling usually includes a number of different types of paper - possibly including old newspapers, magazines, shopping boxes and note pads. Other things mixed with the paper like staples, sticky tape, glue, plastic, metal clips and food must be taken out before the paper is recycled. Unsorted paper can be used for packaging, while using recycled paper for newspaper requires sorting into different types by hand. The better quality paper collected, the higher the quality of the recycled paper that is produced. Following sorting, recycled paper is squeezed together to form big blocks of paper and taken by truck to the paper mill. At the mill, the waste paper is mixed with water in a machine like a washing machine. Objects such as staples and plastic binders are removed and go to the rubbish tip. In this process, between 10% and 30% of the waste paper's volume will be lost because the paper is made up of fillers and other materials like clay that are absorbed in water. For some products, the ink on the paper must be washed off. In this process, a slush of paper and water is mixed with a detergent and air to form a froth on the top of the mixture (like bubbles in a bubble bath). This froth is skimmed off, and the mix is ready to go into the paper machine before it can be dried and made into new paper. Waste paper can be recycled about five to ten times before it cannot be reused anymore. We can't go on recycling the same piece of paper forever, because the fibres break down and cannot form a strong enough "web" to make paper.
How much of the paper produced in Australia is made from recycled paper?
Recycled paper makes up 61.5 per cent of the fibre used in paper production. 100 per cent of the content of packaging and industrial paper is recycled paper. Australian newsprint contains from 20 to 55 per cent recycled fibre. On average, 12 per cent of the content of tissues is recycled paper, with most of this used in a small range of tissue brands. The recycled content of printing and writing papers varies from 10 - 100%
How much waste paper is collected each year for recycling?
More than 1.6 million tonnes of waste paper is collected each year, most of which is used in making paper. This represents 49.6 per cent of the paper consumed in Australia, and more than 68 per cent of the paper produced in Australia. The majority of locally manufactured goods found on supermarket shelves are packed in cartons made from Australian Recycled Cartonboard manufactured at Amcor's Petrie Mill in Queensland.
How many Australian paper mills use recycled paper?
Out of the 18 paper mills in Australia, 14 mills use waste paper in some or all of their products.
Does Australia recycle as much paper as other countries?
Most fibre used to make paper in Australia is recycled. Fibre from recycled paper currently makes up 61.5 per cent of total production, and this figure has increased significantly in recent years because of major investments made by the industry. Australia is a world leader in recycling newspapers. Australia recovered for recycling 72.4 per cent of newsprint used in 2001. In contrast, the average recycling rate in Western Europe is 49.8 per cent, while in the US it is 45 per cent. In Europe, the large numbers of people living in small areas make it cheaper and easier to collect waste paper.
What are the benefits to the environment from recycling paper?
The main environmental benefit from recycling is the lower volume of rubbish going to rubbish tips.
Producing recycled paper generally involves between 28 - 70% less energy consumption than virgin paper and uses less water. This is because most of the energy used in papermaking is the pulping needed to turn wood into paper. Recycled paper produces fewer polluting emissions to air and water. Recycled paper is not usually re-bleached and where it is, oxygen rather than chlorine is usually used. This reduces the amount of dioxins which are released into the environment as a by-product of the chorine bleaching processes. Paper is a biodegradable material. This means that when it goes to landfill, as it rots, it produces< methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas (20 times more potent than carbon dioxide). It is becoming increasingly accepted that global warming is a reality, and that methane and carbon dioxide emissions have to be reduced to lessen its effects.
Summary
So, now you have the basic understanding of recycling. You will probably realise too that even though the mills state that recycling uses less power and saves trees, the price of comparitable recycled to virgin papers are higher. This is because of the high cost of collecting and sorting the paper mainly. If you are buying a nice clean high grade of recycled paper then the post consumer waste that has been processed has to have been finely sorted and de-inked. The packaging/box industry does not have to have such high grade of post consumer waste for their products. What can often be just as important is the manufacturing process and certifications of the mill. Some virgin papers can be equally environmentally friendly if they have been produced in a mill that is supplied by a sustainable forest program plantation, has been bleached by a totally chlorine free method and operates under an environmental management system (ISO 14001, EMS OR EMAS).
