What is Environmentally Sound Paper?
Environmentally Sound Paper (ESP) is paper that has a minimal impact on the environment. This is determined from the source of the raw material, and how it is manufactured. The most commonly acknowledged type of ESP is paper that has been recycled from used paper. Other types of paper such as paper made from alternative fibres other than wood and paper reclaimed from landfill etc. can be said to be environmentally sound.

On the other side of the ledger is paper that has a destructive impact on the environment. Paper manufactured from wood pulp sourced from Old Growth and Rainforests are acknowledged as being the least environmentally sound and should be avoided as all costs. Also paper produced by methods that introduce toxic chemicals into the environment such as chlorine bleaching should be avoided.

*See the bottom of this page for a checklist of the most environmentally sound paper selections.

Plantations
Paper sourced from plantations* that have replaced native forest and/or are chemical intensive are NOT environmentally sound. Some paper companies are claiming their products produced from plantation forestry are environmentally sound. Yet, the forestry practices associated with some plantations, such as clearing of native forest to create the plantations and intensive use of toxic chemicals to maintain them, are amongst the most environmentally destructive practices around. Toxic residues from the intensive use of herbicides and insecticides on plantations are finding their way into our drinking water supplies and fisheries leaving a lasting toxic legacy for the future.

*For more information on Australian Plantation Forestry go to:
Australian Paper: www.australianpaper.forests.org.au
Hancock Forests: www.hancock.forests.org.au

Where is your paper coming from?
The majority of paper that the average Australian encounters day to day (excluding Newsprint) i.e. magazines, TV guides, newsletters, junk mail etc. comes from either pulp produced from the destruction of Australian Forests or South East Asian Rainforests. Those glossy advertising catalogues that arrive in your letterbox are most likely printed on cheap art paper manufactured in SE Asia from rainforest sourced pulp. Your photocopy paper, household bills etc. are more than likely produced with pulp sourced from the Old Growth Forests of East Gippsland, the Central Highlands of Victoria or Tasmania.

There are alternatives to using these environmentally destructive papers. Many Recycled, Alternative Fibre and Reclaimed Papers are available and below is a basic guide for choosing the most environmentally sound.

Recycled Papers:
Recycled papers are recycled to different degrees. The percentage and type of recycled fibre is what to look for. Always choose the paper with the greatest percentage of post consumer waste fibre. Post consumer waste refers to paper that has been used before, collected and recycled, it differs from pre consumer waste which is unused offcuts from the paper making process that are repulped.

The best of the uncoated standard recycled papers for general printing and photocopying available are-:

Cyclus: A Danish made 100% post consumer recycled paper.
Resa Offset Recycled: Made by the same company that makes Cyclus. 100% post
consumer waste.
Evolve: A British made 100% recycled paper with a high post consumer content.
Natutilus: An Austrian made 100% recycled paper with 50% post consumer content.
Evirocare: An Austrian made 100% recycled paper with 65% post consumer content.
Prologue: An Australian made 100% recycled paper.
Options Recycled PC 100: A high quality American 100% post consumer recycled paper.
Plantation: An Australian stock made from 70% waste paper and 30% cotton fibre.

Specialty Recycled Papers:
A large range of high quality, attractive recycled specialty papers exist in a range of weights and colours for all printing applications. Some of the best of these are-:

Recycle 100:
An Australian made 100% recycled stock available in text and cover weight.

Outback:
An earthy Australian 100% recycled stock in text and cover weight.

Botany:
An Australian made 100% unbleached post consumer paper, tan in colour, not recommended for photocopy machines.

Speckletone:
U.S. made textured recycled stock in text and cover weight.

Origin:
An Australian made specialty stock containing recycled fibre and cotton waste.

Evergreen: U.S. produced text and cover stock made from 100% post consumer waste and bamboo fibre.

Conservation Recycled:
A 100% recycled text and cover stock with 20% post consumer content made in Scotland.

Recycled Coated Art Paper:
Coated art paper is often required for high quality and full colour printing,
the best available are -:

Cyclus Matt Art:
This is 100% recycled white artpaper of high quality.

Re-Art:
A 100% recycled high quality artpaper available in matt and gloss.

Monza:
Artpaper with a 15% post consumer, 35% pre consumer and 50% recycled component.

Lotus Recycled Artboard:
100% post consumer recycled artboard made in Japan.

Alternative Fibre Papers:
Alternative fibre or ‘tree free’ papers are produced from the fibre of many different materials ranging from used denim and cotton to banana stalks, bamboo, hemp, flax, sugar cane waste and coffee bean chaff. Unfortunately there are only a few of these papers available in Australia.

The potential of these waste products and fast growing annuals to produce high quality paper and reduce the demand of forests for pulp is enormous.

Available alternative fibre papers are -:

Harvest:
70% sugarcane waste art paper available in matt and gloss.

Canefields:
75% sugarcane waste general photocopy paper.

Reclaimed Paper:
There is much waste in the paper industry, not quite right, slightly damaged paper rolls, and discontinued stock are often dumped in landfill. There are a few paper traders who salvage these damaged or unwanted paper rolls from dumping and sheet them for sale. The paper from this salvage is environmentally sound even though the salvaged paper may not be recycled or alternative fibre paper.

Accreditation and Certification:
In recent years the use of eco labels, certifications and accreditations have been adopted to evaluate the environmental standards of individual paper mills and the forestry practices from which they source their pulp by an accredited 3rd party.

Some of the more credible of these are-:
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): An international, non governmental organisation, which promotes responsible and sustainable forest management. The FSC system of forest certification and product labelling allow papermakers to identify wood pulp that comes from well-managed forests. The chain of custody tracks wood pulp from the forest to the final user. It is an eco label endorsed by WWF, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace.

EMS (Environmental Management System):
An internal system for handling environmental issues within a company. It sets requirements for how activities impacting the environment are accounted for and documented.

ISO 14001 International Environmental Management Standard:
It specifies the actual requirements for an environmental management system. It applies to those environmental aspects over which the organisation has control and can be expected to have influence.

EMAS (European Eco-Management and Audit System):
Founded by the European Union and considered to be the superior environmental standard available. The core scheme requires that there is full transparent public reporting, monitoring and auditing. The accreditation will only be maintained by an organisation that proves ongoing environmental improvements.

White Paper and Bleaching:
To produce white paper the wood coloured pulp requires a process of bleaching. In the past this was done through a process of chlorine bleaching. This method produced highly toxic dioxin as a residue. Today many mills are converting to more environmentally preferable bleaching methods.

Avoid using Chlorine bleached papers.
Environmentally preferred bleaching methods are as follows -:

Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF):
substitutes more benign chemicals such as chlorine dioxide for elemental chlorine gas. Dioxins and other persistent carcinogens remain in ECF effluent but at significantly lower levels.

Process Chlorine Free (PCF):
substitutes benign agents such as ozone, hydrogen peroxide and oxygen, although the pulp may contain recycled or recovered materials that were originally bleached with chlorine.

Total Chlorine Free (TCF):
substitutes benign agents such as ozone, hydrogen peroxide and oxygen.

Paper Selection:
For the most environmentally sound paper choose paper that:

• Has the highest percentage of post consumer recycled content.
• Comes from sustainably managed plantation timber. i.e. has Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.
• Is not chlorine bleached – has Process Chlorine Free (PCF), Total Chlorine Free (TCF) or Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) certification.
• Comes from a mill that has EMS certification – look for ISO 14001 or EMAS
• Is produced in Australia – supports local industry and reduces environmental impacts of transportation.
• Has been salvaged for reuse from landfill.