FAQs about Sustainability
FAQs about Sustainability
How many trees does it take to make one ton of paper?
This is impossible to answer accurately. The most common figure reported is 17 trees for one ton of paper. However, other figures are also given by different sources, with for example Friends of the Earth claiming 6 mature trees.
Neither of these figures can easily be substantiated as it depends upon so many variables: the size of the tree, the tree species, the pulping method (mechanical or wood free), type of paper etc. In addition, paper manufacture does not normally use a whole mature tree but rather thinning (small trees removed to allow room for others to grow), smaller branches, and sawmill residues that are unlikely to be suitable for other uses - and the tree would still be cut down for other uses such as timber for construction.
Paper is biodegradable in a landfill. Why bother recycling?
Paper is biodegradable but in the conditions of a landfill site it can take fifty years to break down. According to the Paper Federation some five million tons of paper and board ends up in landfill sites every year. Recycling that paper waste instead will reduce the need for landfill, create jobs and help to ease pressure on forest resources. Buying recycled grades will help to stimulate the market for recovered fiber and recycling the paper when you’re finished will complete the cycle.
What is Green wash?
Green wash is a term often applied to those making unfounded or misleading claims about their environmental credentials.
For instance, making a claim that a paper is ‘environmentally friendly’ when it contains ECF pulp and 10% mill broke could be seen as green wash. That isn’t because its environmental credentials are poor but because most papers at least meet the same standard - it would be claiming too much.
When talking about the environmental credentials of products it’s important to be specific and not to mislead in any way. Stick to the facts and try to avoid vague terms such as environmentally friendly, eco friendly or green.
What's better: TCF or ECF bleaching?
In the past chlorine gas, or elemental chlorine, was used to bleach papers and so increase their whiteness. This caused environmental problems because chlorine is toxic and the effluent from paper mills was detrimental to aquatic life and water quality.
To overcome the problem the paper industry invested heavily in alternative methods of bleaching. Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) bleaching doesn’t use chlorine gas but instead utilizes chlorine dioxide, which is much safer. Also developed was Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) bleaching which typically uses hydrogen peroxide or ozone instead of chlorine. One of the measures of the toxic effect bleaching has on effluent is the AOX level. This is expressed as kg per ton of pulp produced, with the lower the figure the better. ECF bleaching will have an AOX level no higher than 0.5 kg/ton and TCF will have a zero AOX level.
There has been much debate about which method is best for the environment. But many (including the European Commission) now accept that there is no significant difference between the two, assuming the mill is well managed. Of most importance is how well the effluent has been treated.
Are tree plantations bad for the environment?
There are concerns that fast growing tree plantations can be detrimental to the environment. Potential problems are that uniform stands of the same species (particularly if they are not native) provide poor habitats for wildlife, that they degrade soil and water resources and deprive local people of farmland.
However, it’s not that straightforward and the merits of a plantation have to be judged on a case-by-case basis. For example, a plantation that had replaced natural forest rich in biodiversity would undoubtedly have a negativ
