Find out about the production of copy paper and environmentally- friendly options

• Paper production: the disturbing facts
• The clearfell logging process
• The chlorine bleaching process
• What is an environmentally-friendly paper?
• The alternatives

Paper Production: The Disturbing Facts

• Over half of our native forests have been cleared since European settlement.
• Those remaining are fast disappearing, largely for building and to make paper.
• In Victoria alone, around 15,000 hectares of public native forest are clearfelled each year. This is equivalent to 20 football fields cleared every day.
• All of Australia’s domestically produced office paper is made by the multi-national company Paperlinx (previously AMCOR). Fibre for photocopy paper is sourced primarily from native forest eucalypts from the Central Highlands region in Victoria (home to the endangered Leadbeater’s Possum, Spotted Tree Frog, Sooty Owl, Tiger Quoll, Powerful Owl and rare flora species eg., the Tall Astelia Lily) and the Strezlecki Ranges in South Victoria. Pulp is also purchased on the open market and is widely believed to be sourced from Indonesian rainforests.
• 50% of our tallest forests and 75% of our rainforests are gone.
• 33% of native animals and 33% of native plants are extinct, rare or threatened.
• Australia wide, an estimated 70,000 hectares of native forests is cleared for woodchips each year.
• Under the Forest (Wood Pulp Agreement) Act 1996, the Kennett Government granted AMCOR (now Paperlinx) the right to cut down between 350, 000 and 500, 000 cubic metres of pulpwood each year until 2030. The Bracks Government has supported this arrangement.
• The Central Highlands also provides Melbourne and many surrounding towns with clean drinking water, and contains magnificent Mountain Ash forests, with many pockets of old growth and rainforests.
• Paperlinx annually consumes over 1 million cubic metres of native forest pulpwood (source Appita 95), largely obtained from publicly owned native forests.

The Clearfell Logging Process

Definition: Clearfelling means cutting down almost all the trees, bulldozing and burning the understorey and replanting an even-aged crop of selected species. This is done in coupes (blocks) of 30-40 ha at 50-80 year rotations.

• Short rotation clearfelling prevents forest habitats (hollows for birds and mammals) from developing, greatly reducing biodiversity.
• Re-growth forest requires more water than old-growth forest so less water runs into streams and water catchments.
• In the short term, run-off increases when rain falls, causing higher flood peaks and carrying more top-soil into creeks. Silted rivers, damaged roads, bridges and fencing result.
• Changes to microclimate following clearfelling tend to lower the rainfall of an area, resulting in vegetation adapted to drier environments. Drier forest environments increase the frequency and intensity of bushfires.1
• Research shows that up to 85% of tree ferns in a clearfelled coupe are destroyed. Those remaining after 2 years are in poor health and no new tree ferns grow.2
  

1“Impacts of intensive timber harvesting on the Forests of East Gippsland, Victoria.” VSP Technical Report No 15, Dept of Natural Resources and Environment.

2“The effect of clearfell logging on tree-ferns in Victorian wet Forests.” Australian Forestry, Vol 59, No 4 pp 178-188.

The Chlorine-Bleaching Process

• Chlorine and chlorine compounds combine with wood molecules in pulp mill effluent to form organochlorines. This group of compounds range in effect from the harmless and merely unpleasant to those which cause cancer, immune system malfunctions, reproductive disorders and even mutations. Organochlorines accumulate in animal tissue and do not biodegrade. Effluent from pulp mills using chlorine ends up polluting our oceans and waterways. Chlorine is used as a bleaching agent by Paperlinx with their photocopy papers. It is also widely used by Indonesian and Brazilian paper mills. With most recycled waste paper products no bleaching agent is used. But chlorine from the initial bleaching is still present and hence a closed loop water cycle is necessary to stop pollution of waterways.
• Chlorine-based chemicals (including dioxins) persist in the environment and work their way up the food chain. (Scientific studies conducted by the International Joint Commission on The Great Lakes).
• Chlorine free alternatives are papers that are bleached or whitened with oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, ozone or enzymes or recycled without re-bleaching. Any bleaching process introduces harsh chemicals into the environment. An unbleached or not de-inked recycled paper product is the most environmentally-friendly choice.
• Papers with recycled content cannot be called “Totally Chlorine Free” (TCF) because the recycled paper contains remnants of chlorine compounds from their original manufacture. Paper which is recycled without the use of chlorine chemicals is called “Process Chlorine Free” (PFC).
  Pre versus Post Consumer Products
• Pre consumer waste has not been used by consumers. It is basically the offcuts from the manufacturing process which includes mill, converter and printer offcuts. In most cases, it is still virgin forest sourced. Many paper products labelled “recycled” are in actual fact pre consumer.
• Post consumer waste is defined as paper that has been used at least once by consumers, after which it is gathered and sorted by a recycling company, eg., office paper can be recycled into high quality copy and printing paper: Steinbeis, Nautilus. NB: Almost all the paper that Paperlinx recycles is recycled into cardboard boxes, not office paper. Many companies that used to manufacture 100% post consumer paper products are beginning to add virgin fibre to their products due to the shortened fibres from the continuous recycling of the source material, eg., VISY Recycling. While this may be inevitable it is essential that the maximum life of any resource be exhausted prior to the use of virgin sources.
  

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What is an Environmentally-friendly Paper?

• One that is made from a large percentage of recycled post consumer waste paper. Recycled paper manufacturing uses up to 90% less water and about 50% less energy than paper sourced from virgin fibre.
• Well managed plantation-derived fibre including eucalyptus and pine but preferably alternative fibre crops such as hemp, kenaf and bagasse.
• Paper made without chlorine bleaching.
• Some Australian paper is promoted as recycled, however Government and industry definitions of recycled paper fall short of the mark. They are mostly pre-consumer paper products. Look for products that state they are 100% post consumer rather than recycled, eg.,Renew 100 is promoted as “100% recycled” however it contains approximately 10% pre or post consumer milk carton material, 20% cotton linters (cotton is not a sustainable product) and 70% pre consumer waste. This 70% is native forest fibre!
• Plantations are not always environmentally-friendly. Issues that need to be addressed include: genetic engineering; toxic pollution of soil, ground water, waterways and the ocean; clearance of native bush; effects on biodiversity and fertility; loss and degradation of riparian areas and waterways. Eg., many imported office papers from Malaysia, Brazil or Indonesia come from areas where either plantation establishment or the logging of tropical rainforests has caused human rights abuses and devastating forest fires. Do not use paper manufactured in these countries.
  

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The Alternatives

Evolve:
Production Process:

• Made from 100% post-consumer waste
• Oxygen bleached
• Manufactured in accordance with Era, UK Paper’s Environmentally Responsible Approach to paper making; covering recycling, waste water management, power utilisation and minimising landfill
• “Blue Angel” (German standard) certified meeting stringent environmental criteria, including manufacture from 100% waste paper previously used or processed
• “Nordic Swan” (Scandinavia). This label is awarded only to products which meet stringent, ecologically responsible standards throughout their entire life cycle.
• The plant itself (M-Real New Thames, Kemsley) operates to world leading environmental standards. Only 5% of the input is subsequently deposited as landfill. Apart from the valuable fibre recovered, the remaining waste is utilised as a soil conditioner by local farmers. The water used within the process is recycled water from the adjacent New Thames paper mill. The plant is powered by the world-beating efficient Combined Heat and Power Plant on the same site.
  

Nautilus: (Canon 100)
Production Process:

• Made from at least 85% post consumer and at most 15% pre consumer paper
• Oxygen bleached
• Archival properties of a minimum of 200 years (alkaline paper)
• High purity and bulk with even sheet information
• Guaranteed photocopies with high contrast and resolution
• “Blue Angel” (German standard) certified meeting stringent environmental criteria, including manufacture from 100% waste paper previously used or processed
• Packaging – wrappers are made from the environmentally-friendly “biocoat”, an humidity proof coating made from natural organic and mineral substances that is completely biodegradable, recyclable and has no noxious emissions.
  

  Suitable for:	Qualities:
  Duplexing	Correct curl control
  High speed copying	Low dust control
  Double-siding	Correct finish and opacity
  Plain paper faxes	Precision cut
  Iinkjet machines	Stable optical properties
  Laser printing	Reduced copier soiling
  Offset printing	Superior archival properties

Cane Fields Eco Paper
Production Process:

TNPL (Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited) produces Cane Fields at its plant in India which has a commitment towards sustainable development

By relying on bagasse (sugar cane offcuts), a renewable resource, TNPL helps prevent the denudation of 30,000 acres of forest land each year

It hails as India’s most energy efficient plant

Has achieved self-sufficiency in power through wind energy and co-generation

Has a sophisticated effluent treatment plant where effluent water is treated by activated sludge process

The paper uses at most 15% plantation sourced timber fibre and the remainder is bagasse sourced from surrounding sugar cane farms. The pith is also used as a power source for the mill.

There are two main grades of copy paper – standard and premium. The standard is suitable for low or medium speed copiers while the premium is recommended for high speed copiers and laser printers.

A range of stationery products is also available including student exercise and notebooks.

Green Wrap
Production process:

Produced by Paperlinx at its Shoalhaven mill for Fuji Xerox as a compromise paper which promises recycled content while offering high portability across many types of machinery and a bright white appearance.

The paper is claimed to be 50% recycled though approximately 40% of this is pre-consumer and only 10% (approximately) is post consumer content. The paper also contains up to 40% imported plantation fibre and no native forest or saw mill residues are used. The remaining 10% of content comes from the unsustainable cotton industry in the form of linters which Paperlinx has used for many years in paper production.

The product is sodium hypochlorite bleached to achieve whiteness and reduce microorganisms in the recycling process. The recycled pulp is also deinked.

The Shoalhaven mill has been significantly upgraded in recent years and now produces far less water pollution, reduced fresh water consumption (30%) and greater water reuse. Water treatment improvements have reduced BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) by 95%. Organochlorines have also been reduced but remain at 50 grams per dried tonne of paper (below legal limits).

Energy is delivered using coal sources on site (42%) however a cogeneration plant has improved a previously poor record in this aspect.

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