Printing Services / About Eco-Friendly Printing

Nonwood Fiber and tree free:
This term means virgin fiber that is derived from non-forest sources, usually agricultural residues from annual farm crops such as flax, hemp and bagasse.
Tree Free
This is a general term to signify pulp/paper that is made without ANY cutting down of trees, directly or indirectly.

FSC - Forest Stewardship Council Certification

FSC is the strictest of the forest harvesting certification processes. The FSC was created in the 1990s by environmental and social groups, foresters and landowners to provide consumers with a rigorous, independent system for identifying products from ecologically, socially, and economically well-managed forests.

Bleaching

ECF - Elemental Chlorine Free: Processed without the most environmentally threatening whitener of all time: chlorine gas (pure chlorine). Chlorine compounds such as chlorine dioxide or sodium hypochlorite (common household bleach) are likely used. These chlorine compounds are much, much more stable than pure chlorine.

TCF - Totally Chlorine Free: No chlorine compounds are used in the production of this pulp & paper. If the paper is white yet TCF it may have been whitened with Hydrogen Peroxide, Ozone or biologically.

PCF - Process(ed) Chlorine Free:
Applies to post-consumer recycled content only as it means that no chorine (or compounds) were used "this time around" but there may be traces of chlorine present because of earlier processes.

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 negative impact on the environment. Whereas a plantation grown on land already degraded by logging or over-intensive farming can actually help to restore biodiversity.

Does papermaking cause rainforest destruction?

According to Friends of the Earth the main causes of rainforest destruction are unsustainable and illegal logging for timber and pulp, the replacement of forests by cash crops or plantations and the expansion of urban areas, roads and other construction projects.

Most of the trees found in rainforests do not provide suitable fiber for paper pulp. So, wood fiber for paper usually originates from managed forests and plantations where new trees are planted to replace those cut down. Papermaking takes off cuts, sawmill residue and thinning (small trees removed from the forest so that others can grow) that are not suitable for other uses such as construction.

However, there have been cases where rainforest has been cleared to make way for plantations that provide fiber for papermaking.

Can plastic be recycled?

All the most common types of plastic can be recycled, including PVC. The difficulty is in segregating waste so that only specific types of plastic are recycled together. When different types are melted during recycling they don’t mix well and the result is a lower quality plastic that is unsuitable for many applications.

Why should I buy recycled paper?

With the growing commitment to responsible forest management, preventing trees being cut down is becoming less of a key incentive for buying recycled paper. However, it is still true that continuing demand for recycled fiber products will relieve pressure on the world’s forest resources.

Today the main reason for buying recycled is to make good use of the waste paper that would otherwise choke landfill sites or be sent for incineration. The waste most likely to end up in landfill is that which has reached the millions of different homes and offices and, because it has become so broadly spread, is difficult to collect. Therefore it can be argued that buying paper that has a high proportion of post-consumer waste is helping the most to ease waste disposal problems.

What is ISO 14001?

ISO14001 is an environmental management system. It does not automatically mean that the certified organization is performing brilliantly. However, it does mean that the organization is aware of how it impacts on the environment and is committed to the continuous improvement of aspects like energy efficiency, waste reduction and pollution cntrol.

Isn't the production of recycled paper more damaging to the environment than that of normal paper?

No, the production of recycled fiber pulp is, generally speaking, more environmentally benign than the production of ‘virgin fiber’ pulp that comes directly from trees. Making recycled pulp produces less air pollution and most types of emissions to water are reduced. Recycled pulp production usually requires less water and less bought-in energy.

Why can't I buy more FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accredited papers?

Many environmental groups such as WWF, Greenpeace, and Friends of the Earth support the FSC. They believe it offers the only truly independent forest certification scheme that is consistent worldwide and provides sufficient reassurance about issues like indigenous people’s rights.

However, a lot of forest owners are not so keen. They feel that the FSC is unaccountable and inattentive to their needs. It has been considered by many to be too costly and too complicated for individuals and small organizations to achieve. There is also perhaps a ‘them and us’ situation between green groups and industry.

The FSC has taken steps to help small holders more easily achieve certification. Nevertheless many forest owners, large and small, have opted to go with more accommodating national forest certification schemes, many of which come under the umbrella of the Pan European Forest Certification (PEFC) scheme.

These problems, plus demand from the timber industry for FSC labeled products, mean that there is still a shortage of wood available for papermaking. More FSC accredited grades will hit the market, but it will take time.