tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76938408834826258392024-03-06T12:02:29.803-08:00Environmental Paper Advice & ViewsGerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-65288806658137617122009-08-13T19:57:00.000-07:002009-08-17T14:30:48.721-07:00A Real Wastebasket Jumpshot<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Sarah/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p.MsoToc1, li.MsoToc1, div.MsoToc1 {mso-style-update:auto; mso-style-next:Normal; margin-top:6.0pt; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center; mso-pagination:widow-orphan lines-together no-line-numbers; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal">Countless times I have gotten together with paper industry people and usually when guys (mostly) are involved, the discussions quickly move to sports-jock talk.<span style=""> </span>While I don’t have the clichéd golf clubs in my trunk, I can hold down my end of the conversation if it involves major league baseball.<span style=""> </span>However, more often than not, it devolves into a discussion of collegiate football or basketball…to me it's like listening to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Charlie Brown’s</span> teacher.
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<br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So anyway, some month’s back, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Sports Illustrated</span> contacted me about the piles of mail (p-a-p-e-r) that NCAA teams send to potential recruits who are still in high school.<span style=""> The resulting article was in the August 3rd issue. </span>Most of the article centers on a top high school player from Santa Barbara, California.<span style=""> </span>Keep an eye out for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Roberto Nelson</span> at Oregon State over the next few years.</p>
<br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">So yours truly got to be in Sports Jock Heaven…Sports Illustrated.<span style=""> </span>Here’s the <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1158402/index.htm">article</a> and it does involve paper!</span>Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-59906364041156010952009-04-16T22:25:00.000-07:002009-04-17T08:30:53.879-07:00Black Liquor -- Never So TastyDid you ever see <a href="http://www.leskobooks.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Matthew Lasko</span></a>, the guy wearing the question-mark covered suit on TV infomercials touting free government money giveaways? I always thought it was a joke. Man, I guess I have missed the boat.<br /><br />The latest opportunity seems to be the pulp & paper industry getting multi-million dollar payments and tax credits from the US government for doing something the industry has been doing for the past 70 years, powering their mills by burning the recovery boiler black liquor residual. Well, actually there is something new in that they have to add some diesel fuel to the black liquor burn to qualify as an alternative fuel, and thus be able to obtain a tax-credit/subsidy. They get this by taking advantage of a loophole some clever paper industry people found in a 2005 highway transportation bill.<br /><br />As recently reported in <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090420/hayes">The Nation</a>, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032703116.html">Washington Post</a> and other sources, the practice of burning black liquor at pulp mills started in the 1930s, but the opportunity for an alternative fuels tax credit is something most pulp mills with recovery boiler operations could now qualify for. Why would any paper company pass up a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wesley Snipes</span>-like, jump-on-the-bandwagon, we-twisted-it tax scheme?<br /><br /><a href="http://investor.internationalpaper.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=73062&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1269301&highlight=">International Paper Company</a> recently touted its windfall of $79 million for one month of operation.<br /><br />Clearly this tax credit/subsidy for black liquor burning was not the intent of the 2005 highway transportation bill. The alternative fuels tax credit was intended to stimulate and create incentives for new production of non-fossil fuels. Not to support existing 1930’s technology.<br /><br />Possibly kudos should be considered for the people who discovered that pulp mills could, with the minor addition of diesel fuel, be the recipients of US Government largess. But the whole thing is so similar to the public’s perception of undeserved bonus money going to AIG executives, that maybe it could backfire. The potential public relations disaster should cause any paper company boardroom to pause. My thought: discontinue the practice…and maybe send back any money already received. The bad publicity is not worth it.<br /><br />Back during the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Reagan</span> Administration, I am certain the idea of having ketchup qualify as a vegetable for school lunch programs was not an Oval Office decision. It was some <a href="http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2517/did-the-reagan-era-usda-really-classify-ketchup-as-a-vegetable">USDA</a> wise guys who made that “cost effective” pronouncement. But the Reagan Presidency was widely ridiculed as cynical for allowing such a definition in school lunch nutrition programs. It was a PR nightmare for the White House.<br /><br />Likewise, some bean-counting, tax code-researching, buried-at-headquarters MBAs uncovered the potential to reap some generous rewards from everyday operations at pulp mills…maybe it required an additional meeting to make some minor modifications. But now the boardroom is going to have to deal with resulting heat. Given our current economic climate, the public may lump this in with any and all public money bailout abuse.<br /><br />Situations like this make our country's operations look amateurish. This just adds to America’s unfavorable standing in the world. Hell, even the <a href="http://embassymag.ca/page/printpage/canada_us_dispute-4-15-2009">Canadians</a> are getting pissed off at us.<br /><br />The paper industry in the US does need help and support. But let’s reward jobs and innovation. Not existing everyday technology. These recovery boilers, which are the money-making engines referred to in this alternative fuels subsidy issue were called "<span style="font-style: italic;">...old, relatively inefficient, high maintenance and vulnerable to catastrophic smelt water explosions</span>" in a joint US paper industry and US Department of Energy <a href="http://www.agenda2020.org/PDF/FPI_Roadmap%20Final_Aug2006.pdf">report</a> in 2006. Senators Baucus and Grassley want to put a stop to the loophole. No doubt pressure will mount to keep the loophole in place. Maybe a review of the report will remind the paper industry that just a few years ago they were focused on the new and innovative...not 70 year old technology.<br /><br />Someone found this tax loophole and presented it to higher ups. The problem is higher ups in charge said “cool!”.<br /><br />Time to call this a bad idea and shut it down.<br /><br />With this said, I still may just send away to Pueblo, Colorado and get one of those government booklets on give-away programs. I may be missing out too.Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-71622861411809916862008-11-13T19:12:00.000-08:002008-11-13T19:45:19.479-08:00hang on while we all go down the tubesThe other day I was described as "harsh" by the blogger over at <a href="http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2008/11/awash-in-paper.html">Dead Tree Edition</a>.<br /><br />But check out his or her (they are anonymous) recent post. I'll let him/her start to tell the story of what I figured would come home to roost sooner or later. But this bit first--for years municipal curbside recycling programs have been increasingly operating single stream (commingled) collection programs and they have not had a problem finding a market for the tangled mix of paper that most North American recycled pulp & paper mills would rather take a pass on. No problem, Asia, specifically China, wants our waste paper. China has been building paper mills like crazy in the last 10 years. This has worked out well...even though this situation is not part of some well-thought-out plan...most recycling programs don't realize this situation (high demand for recovered waste paper in China) was really just chance, luck, serendipity...stumbled upon. There were no egghead economists planning this out...the whole thing has been "hedge-fund" like -- and we all know how that works out WHEN THE RULES CHANGE!<br /><br />So I'll let <a href="http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2008/11/awash-in-paper.html">Dead Tree</a> tell the story for now.Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-61743700226519561632008-11-09T13:35:00.000-08:002008-11-09T14:41:20.631-08:00Sharing is CaringThis blog (on the same server I use) is an interesting read. By an anonymous blogger who wants to keep his day job in the printing or publishing industry.<br /><br /><a href="http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2008/10/im-environmental-idiot.html">deadtreeedition.blogspot.com</a><br /><br />I thought it would be a comparable parallel universe to the information I post here...especially as I decided a few years to discontinue engaging in the simpleton environmental debates such as recycling is actually a worse choice than using virgin fiber to produce paper.<br /><br />The one thing I always acknowledge is that paper production is a complicated process, where one shoe does not fit-all. But the idea that the paper industry can be sustainable using timber to produce 100% of product is a dead-end.<br /><br />And regarding the old saw put forward in this guy's blog post, that recycled fiber should be used specifically in one sector such as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">containerboard</span> production. Tell that to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">containerboard</span> and sack mills that have concerns about product integrity. The down-cycle whine is getting pretty old. Yes the recycled fibers become shorter. But there are only so many cardboard boxes needed...so all industry sectors gotta suck it up and absorb some of recovered output...including printing & writing, which is taking in about 6-8% right now in North America. It is done. It works. Some mills are doing it. More need to get involved and change the production <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">paradigm</span>...not 100%...but at least more than 6-8% of production.<br /><br />Chlorine compound bleaching is used to separate <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">lignin</span> and brighten virgin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">kraft</span> fiber production, and is not comparable to the bleaching (in many cases more benign) used for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">deinking</span>.<br /><br />And speaking of parallel universes, I assume according to this blog post, the Martians in Europe know how to separate waste paper so it is usable for paper production...something North Americans would never be able to comprehend.<br /><br />I told myself I would never engage in these "debates" again. I have to find the 12-step program for this...I keep falling off the wagon.Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-12811142829120681552008-09-19T22:33:00.000-07:002008-09-20T14:39:43.638-07:00Mechanical Paper – the New DietDismayed as I was a few years ago that the brightness level of office and printing paper was needlessly being ratcheted-up by the major paper producers, there surprisingly is a positive outcome from that move, one that few are taking notice of. When kraft paper producers started the increase to brightness levels in the mid to low 90s (GE scale), the fledgling uncoated mechanical offset paper producers also bumped up their brightness levels to a point that these mechanical papers now approach the comparable appearance of the uncoated kraft printing papers of just a few years ago.<br /><br />The unfortunate situation is that there has been little-to-no action by the pulp & paper industry to invest in additional deinking capacity for expanded production of recycled content printing & office paper in North America. And the good intentions of certified virgin fiber does not lessen the demand for timber for paper. However, environmentally speaking, there is good news in that the mechanical pulp process does utilize less wood input (close to half the amount) compared to kraft pulp. Additionally, the bleaching process for virgin mechanical pulp also lends itself to being free of chlorine compound use.<br /><br />So if I have anything to point to as far as environmentally significant progress in the printing & writing sector of the paper industry in the past 5 years, it would have to be the increased production and marketing of mechanical pulp papers that can replace the use of kraft pulp paper for offset printing, book production, office paper and business forms.<br /><br />20 years ago, even the infrequent paper consumer was aware of the term “acid-free paper”. The disparaging talk at the time by those in the paper industry was that every grandma with her own lousy poetry book wanted it printed on archival paper—as if their tome would be sought after for eternity. I wish I had a nickel for everyone who inquired about acid-free paper at the time. Many even confused acid-free as some environmental benefit.<br /><br />There are solid benefits to archival acid-free papers. Being able to view the <em>Declaration of Independence</em> is a good example. <strong><em>National Geographic</em></strong> magazine is famously printed on acid-free archival paper. Recently, I had the clichéd experience of waiting at the doctor’s office perusing a <em>National Geographic</em> from 1971 about the Apollo 15 lunar expedition (We took a motor-vehicle AND golf clubs to the moon! —Way to go USA!). Amazingly that magazine looked as good as the day it was printed. It reminded me that my mother has been saving for me, every <em>National Geographic</em> since the mid-1960’s, neatly stored by year in leather-like slipcases. I’ll take them someday if I ever happen to move into a home the size of the Astrodome. Meanwhile, I’d prefer if National Geo would have continued producing the CD-ROM of all issues back to 1888…it was much more portable and didn’t involve paper.<br /><br />My point being that one day we will realize that not everything needs to be archival on paper. Certainly the younger set that can text message with one hand understands that. So kraft pulp’s days may be numbered…or at least limited.<br /><br />In the meantime, paper based communications such as utility bills, mundane office memos…and certainly junk mail…could all be produced on the mechanical pulp papers. There is no reason this material needs to be produced on kraft pulp printing & office paper.<br /><br />Again, the environmental benefit is the higher yield of paper production to timber input and the chlorine free process. But as I wrote about last year, the environmental benefit can only be claimed if mechanical pulp paper is used in place of kraft pulp paper. Some mechanical pulp paper, such as newsprint or coated mechanical for newsweekly magazines have always used mechanical pulp, therefore no environmental impact sea-change exists for that use.<br /><br /><strong>Abitibi-Bowater</strong> is taking the lead on production of this type of paper with its <a href="http://www.abitibibowater.com/products/commercial-printing-papers/ecopaque.aspx">Ecopaque</a> brand printing papers. <strong>Xerox</strong> branded <a href="http://www.xerox.com/go/xrx/template/inv_rel_newsroom.jsp?app=Newsroom&ed_name=NR_2007July30_High_Yield_Business_Paper_sustainability&format=article&view=newsrelease">Hi-Yield Business Paper</a> is an office paper utilizing mechanical pulp. And for the double whammy—mills like <a href="http://www.manistiquepapers.com/">Manistique Papers</a> (uncoated paper ) and <a href="http://www.myllykoski.com/NR/rdonlyres/4380621C-F1F8-4B1A-BA82-6F3CF46C5C80/0/CONNECTION_HSWO_C_GLOSS_USA_2_in_1.pdf">Myllykoski/Madison</a> (coated paper) produce mechanical pulp papers with recycled fiber.<br /><br />So I think it is time that mechanical process paper (again - <em>only when being used to</em> <em>replace existing</em> kraft process paper) should take its place alongside recycled content and certified virgin fiber in the dialog about sustainable paper production and use.Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-31746787959425768142007-09-20T21:04:00.000-07:002007-09-21T10:24:20.970-07:00Your Attention PleaseMy favorite part of the flight: You get on an airplane and the flight attendant wants your undivided attention and then proceeds to announce "...and for the benefit of those passengers who have not been in an automobile since 1966, we will now demonstrate how to buckle and release a seatbeat".<br /><br />I'm with all those who say we have really dumbed-down the entire world.<br /><br />So why on earth do we have to--in 2007--have a press release from a major envelope manufacturer touting that they are going to print "please recycle" on customers envelopes, like they are contributing some major breakthrough on human planetary behavior?<br /><br />The fact is that the envelope company doing this actually produces some very real environmentally beneficial envelopes, using recycled paper or sustainable certified virgin paper, alternative energy offsets or other programs...truthfully not for all (or even the majority) of the envelopes they produce, but enough that they have created a market that can readily provide environmentally beneficial envelopes to customers who want them...and that customer base is growing.<br /><br />My point is that the please recycle stuff is a distraction from the real efforts that are needed to improve the environmental impact of paper production and consumption. It certainly pales in comparison to <span style="font-style: italic;">actually using</span> recycled paper to produce the envelopes.<br /><br />The "<a href="http://envelope.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/1461/conman/Please+Recycle+Campaign-Standard+press+release.pdf">please recycle</a>" campaign is sponsored by <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Envelope Manufacturers Association</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Direct Market Association</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Magazine Publishers of America</span>.<br /><br />Well, OK --Clap, Clap, Clap, -- Good show! Something is being done!<br /><br />Now check your guns at the door, put that baby in a car seat, don't smoke in the hospital...it's 2007 for crying out loud!Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-47493921581138045702007-07-31T22:58:00.000-07:002007-07-31T23:58:54.132-07:00Spin & Buzzzzzzz<p class="MsoNormal">Quite a buzz with Monday’s press release of the new “greener” <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">High Yield Business Paper</span> being marketed by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Xerox</span>.<span style=""> </span>Is there true hoopla to be made about this being greener paper? Well, yes there is a considerable amount of reduction in raw material used to produce mechanical pulp, there is no denying that. In fact I have high hopes for mechanical pulp being used for paper production, in place of kraft pulp.<span style=""> </span>But while the press release claims this is some “First-Of-Its-Kind Paper”, I remember another brand that was “flop-of-its-kind” some years back.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> Plus any press release nowadays that has the word <span style="font-style: italic;">greener</span> in quotes (third paragraph of the <a href="http://www.xerox.com/go/xrx/template/inv_rel_newsroom.jsp?ed_name=NR_2007July30_High_Yield_Business_Paper_sustainability&app=Newsroom&view=newsrelease&format=article&Xcntry=USA&Xlang=en_US">press release</a>) is something for the jaundiced eye.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> However, unlike the recent claims of being carbon neutral made by some pulp mills that suddenly want to tout the fact that they burn biomass (“for years we burned biomass, but today we burn biomass and are carbon neutral”), there actually is something here to this mechanical pulp yield issue…a point some in the paper industry feel they haven’t been given credit for environmentally.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> Mechanical pulp (ground, thermo-pulverized and similar processed pulp that does not remove lignin) requires less wood input compared to kraft pulp (chemical process pulp that removes lignin). So yes, less trees.<span style=""> </span>And many of the mechanical pulp processes use less chemical brightening; can use alternatives to chlorine compounds such as peroxide, and can use less calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide and other brighteners.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> So if a paper user replaces kraft pulp paper with a mechanical pulp paper, there could indeed be significantly less environmental impact.<span style=""> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">But mechanical paper has to replace kraft paper.</span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> Some mills claim that because they make mechanical pulp they should be given credit for producing an environmentally beneficial product. Well, no--that is what they produce--did yesterday and will tomorrow.<span style=""> </span>If a mill producing kraft pulp suddenly switched to producing mechanical pulp and thus reduced the amount of wood input--well then, they may actually have a point.<span style=""> </span>But similar to the issue of biomass burning mills claiming to be suddenly carbon neutral…there has to be an actual sea-change in production method, not just the sudden “light-bulb-going-off” that they are green and carbon neutral. (Light bulb usually goes off in the marketing department).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> So is this Xerox High Yield Business Paper really new?<span style=""> </span>Well, it’s new in that Xerox has found a product they are willing to put the Xerox brand name on.<span style=""> </span>Mechanical pulp office papers have been around for years…18lb tractor-feed computer paper, 18lb. groundwood forms bond…and a favorite of mine some 15 years ago, an office/copy paper called <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Unity DP</span>, which was produced by the Hammermill division of <span style="font-weight: bold;">International Paper</span> (IP).<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> Unity DP was not only a mechanical pulp paper, it was also entirely recycled content, produced at the IP mill in Lockhaven, Pennsylvania.<span style=""> </span>The paper was made from recycled newspapers and magazines.<span style=""> </span>Prior to IP marketing Unity DP, the method to produce recycled mechanical office paper was developed by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Steinbeis Temming</span> of Germany and was marketed under the brand name <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Recyconomic</span>.<span style=""> </span>Not only was Unity DP high recycled content…it sold for the dirt-cheap price of $18-20 per carton, considerably less than most virgin office paper.<span style=""> </span>It was so cheap that schools, nonprofits and other budget conscious paper users would buy it up.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> Sadly, IP discontinued producing Unity DP in 1998 and dismantled the deinking mill in Lockhaven, claiming the product never caught on with the paper buying public. Bizarrely, IP made one last parting shot in the announcement of the brand’s demise, claiming the failure of the brand on the over-zealous promises of environmentalists that there would be a market for the paper.<span style=""> </span>Meanwhile, school districts around the country struggle to be able to afford office paper.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> In recent years the kraft pulp office and printing paper market has focused on producing heavier basis weights (24lb in place of 20lb), and brighter white papers (92 GE bright, up from 84 GE standard of 3 years ago).<span style=""> </span>So to see Xerox market a brand that is less bright, lighter weight and made with mechanical pulp is a good thing.<span style=""> </span>But Xerox is hardly the first kid on the block with this. Years ago, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Abitibi-Consolidated</span>, a newsprint producing giant, started producing mechanical pulp offset papers that compete with kraft pulp offset printing papers, under the brand names <a href="http://www.abitibiconsolidated.com/aciwebsitev3.nsf/Site/en/papers/alma_project.html">Equal and Alternative Offset</a>.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bowater</span> (which is merging with Abitibi) produces a similar brand, <a href="http://www.freesheethybrid.com/">BowHybrid</a>.<span style=""> </span>So the story is not as new as the Xerox press release makes out.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> The mechanical paper in place of kraft paper market is growing.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> What would be good is if mechanical papers can replace kraft paper used for such low-life-span items such as utility bills, direct mail and other easily tossed items.<span style=""> </span>Maybe someone will produce similar mechanical office paper that can be purchased by cash-strapped school districts.<span style=""> </span>And more important, if recycled fiber can again be the source of some of that mechanical pulp.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <span style="font-size:12;">Last, to address an issue that plagued the Unity DP brand. Some recycling advocates found fault with mechanical paper being mingled with kraft paper in office paper collection programs.<span style=""> </span>True, mechanical paper will downgrade the quality and usefulness of white paper collected in office paper recycling programs.<span style=""> </span>However, when used for direct mail and utility bills, much of this mechanical paper will end up in residential collection programs, which are a tangled mix of paper grades that are not destined for high-grade deinking mills that need sorted, clean white paper.<span style=""> </span>And used in schools--well most schools I have seen recycle using the same collection methods used for residential recycling collection, not those found in office building collection programs.</span></p>Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-36721557434659782252007-07-11T21:30:00.000-07:002007-07-26T20:14:46.392-07:00Choice…you chooseI was actually considering letting this one go, however since I am continually bombarded with the question of what is the best choice for the environment when looking for paper, here goes.<br /><br />Recycled content, certified virgin fiber, or advanced and more benign pulp bleaching methods. Which is best?<br /><br />Making it easy is a concise <a href="http://www.conservatree.org/paper/Choose/WhichBest.shtml">discussion</a> of the topic produced by a colleague at Conservatree.<br /><br />And various other organizations offer their explanations of desirable paper production characteristics, such as the <a href="http://www.environmentalpaper.org/documents/CommonVision.pdf">Common Vision for Transforming the Paper Industry</a>, created by the <a href="http://www.environmentalpaper.org/">Environmental Paper Network</a>.<br /><br />So considering these and other long-established criteria that call for recycled fiber to be incorporated into truly sustainable paper production, it disconcerting to see how recycled fiber is given short-shift lately in the growing marketplace for environmental paper.<br /><br />Recycled fiber is admittedly never going to be able to fully replace the need for creation of virgin fiber. But the sad truth is that less than 6% of the pulp used for the production of paper in the significant printing & writing paper sector (27% of the total market) is recycled fiber. Office paper, printing paper for books, magazines, catalogs, direct mail, advertising and envelopes: little of this sector uses recycled fiber. Simply put, we need more demand for the use of recovered paper to be used in paper production. Recovered paper has been proven to be a sustainable and reliable source of feedstock to create new paper. Mixed with virgin fiber, there is a proven track record that recycled fiber is the cornerstone of sustainable environmental paper. Unfortunately, there is currently an extremely small amount of global recovered paper deinking capacity available to produce the quality recycled kraft pulp used in fine paper production. Hopefully, demand will create incentive for opportunities to expand deinked pulp production considering the renewed interest in the recycled and environmental paper market.<br /><br />Virgin fiber will also continue to be incorporated into pulp and paper production. For that portion of feedstock source, it is necessary for sustainable production and certification programs to ensure claims of sustainability are adhered to. Currently there are a myriad of competing certification schemes with confusing (to the paper-buying public) acronyms. Common sense will likely win out, consolidating these redundant systems, and credible third-party certification systems will hopefully prevail. The most promising of these is the <strong>Forest Stewardship Council</strong> (FSC) certification.<br /><br />In the meantime, it would be good for paper buyers to continue to focus on the need to increase the amount of recovered (recycled) fiber used in overall paper production. A less than 6% market share for recycled fiber is abysmal if paper production and paper consumption are to be sustainable.<br /><br />So I was taken aback by last week’s joint participatory <a href="http://www.domtar.com/en/paper/products/earthchoice/3974.asp">press release</a> by <strong>Domtar</strong>, <strong>Office Depot</strong> and <strong>FSC</strong> certifying bodies touting the increased distribution of the <strong><em>EarthChoice Office Paper</em></strong> brand. In the press release, there appears no mention of the word “recycled.” Recycled-content office paper has been the one promising product with increased market share for recycled fiber, notably because office paper is the one portion of the printing & writing segment that is most directly impacted by individual choice.<br /><br />So “Earth” and “Choice” don’t seem to go together here.<br /><br />Certified sustainable virgin fiber is important, but not as a total replacement for using recycled fiber. Some make arguments for entirely certified virgin fiber paper, citing the severe lack of deinked recycled pulp available on today’s market. But an argument could also be made for the entire replacement of kraft pulp paper with mechanical pulp paper, therefore avoiding the use of recycled or virgin certified pulp altogether. (Mechanical pulp is almost twice as efficient in resource use as kraft pulp.)<br /><br />But we shouldn’t make these arguments. The real focus should be on increasing the incorporation of recovered, recycled, deinked fiber into printing and writing paper production. Unlike a statement in the press release mentioned above: recycled fiber is the “gold standard” for environmental paper.<br /><br /><strong>FSC</strong>: good guys<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Domtar</strong>: good guys using certified sustainable fiber (and sometimes recycled fiber)<br /><em><strong></strong></em><br /><em><strong>Mills using deinked fiber</strong></em>: double good guys<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Office Depot</strong>: good guys, thanks for increasingly making environmental paper available.<br />(homework for Office Depot: read the blog post from April 23rd to understand why ECF bleached paper is nothing to make special note of in your <a href="http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=526415">product listing</a>---there is "green"... and then there is "mandatory."<br /><br />So, choose to buy paper with recycled fiber, right now that is what the market needs.Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-41376665558717896332007-06-01T07:29:00.001-07:002007-06-22T17:32:43.665-07:00Neighborhood Crime WatchAt my local big chain office supply store:<br />Store brand 20lb. 8.5x11 copy paper<br />- <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">$3.69</span> per 500 sheet ream<br />Store brand <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">recycled content</span> 20lb. 8.5x11 copy paper<br />- <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">$5.59</span> per 500 sheet ream<br /><br />And recycled content here is not the more expensive 100% postconsumer recycled--this is standard 30%-35% postconsumer recycled!Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-71352645424394526962007-05-30T21:15:00.000-07:002007-06-22T17:28:49.753-07:00Billions Served…My Cup Runneth Over!<p class="MsoNormal">This question was recently proposed to me:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="COLOR: rgb(68,68,68)">I need help with information on recycleable paper cups. Our </span></i><span style="COLOR: rgb(68,68,68)">[organization]<i> owns a large supply of ceramic cups, but members don't like washing dishes and would like to promote recycled content cups as an alternative. Doesn't sound good to me from the point of view of waste</i><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">.</span><i> </i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">This request mixes several questions together, so I will attempt to untangle them.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>First the issue of the “recyclable” cup.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Most hot beverage cups made from paper are coated with a plastic substance such as polyethylene to provide a barrier to prevent the liquid from seeping through.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>This plastic coating usually makes such cups unrecyclable, as plastic is a contaminant in typical recycling systems.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Additionally, food and grease- tainted paper is not desirable to have in pulping systems that recycle recovered paper.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>So those of you who are throwing the used pizza boxes in the recycling bin -- good intentions, but it’s not really helping out.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Some of that food-contaminated paper can be composted, but not the plastic coated (polyethylene and such) cups and plates. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">International Paper Company</span>, in conjunction with <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Green Mountain Coffee Company</span>, has developed a hot beverage cup that is coated with a corn-based barrier that can be composted…“under the right conditions”.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>This compostable paper cup is marketed under the brand name “Ecotainer”.</p><p class="MsoNormal">An amazing fact was brought out in news releases for the Ecotainer cup.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Americans go through 15 billion -- yes “B,” billion -- disposable hot beverage cups per year.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>And market projections are to reach 23 billion disposable cups per year by the year 2010!</p><p class="MsoNormal">Now not all disposable cups are paper-based; there are, for example, the polystyrene (Styrofoam) cups, such as the 800 million used by <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Dunkin Donuts</span> outlets each year.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Now to the issue of recycled content.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Starbucks</span> was reported to be using in excess of 1.7 billion paper cups per year.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>To their credit, Starbucks has started to use 10% postconsumer recycled content in their cups.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>This is possible because Starbucks’ cups contain some deinked recycled kraft pulp, the same type of pulp used in printing & writing paper, bath tissue, paper towels and some packaging material.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Unfortunately, there is only about 1.6 million tons of deinked kraft pulp available in North America -- which is a very small portion compared to the 30 million or more tons of timber pulp that just these few sectors of the paper market require. The current ability to create more beverage cups with recycled content is limited considering all the copy paper, bath tissue and other grades of paper that also seek to use recycled kraft fiber.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So for this organization, the question becomes, are there recycled content paper coffee cups they can obtain?<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Well, if you are Starbucks, the answer is yes.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>For anyone else, right now they are not on the shelf.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>The type of paper these cups use is the same type of paperboard that milk cartons use (SBS), which right now is not geared to utilize recycled paper. </p><p class="MsoNormal">However, Starbucks has proved it can be done.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>But we need more recycled kraft pulp capacity in North America to be able to expand the market.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">But really, it begs the question of the need for a disposable cup in a situation such as this. The organization already has a supply of durable coffee cups that would only have to be washed.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Similar to the debate of cloth vs. disposable diapers, there certainly are situations where convenience is an issue. So, while reports state that more than 60% of all coffee is brewed at home where we can easily use a ceramic coffee cup, we still go through an astounding 15 billion disposable cups per year, which again is expected to increase by 63% in the next few years. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> Well slap my lowfat-decaf-soy-chai-latte drinkin’ self if I add to that!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:12;">We can all look for techno-fixes; buy carbon energy offsets and other feel good alternatives to solve the problems of global warming, pollution and unsustainable consumption.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Or, maybe we should just start with simple ideas such as put forward by <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Jimmy Carter:</span> “put a sweater on”.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>So, in this case, wash the cups…and put a smile on while you do it.</span></p>Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-15576967769834664672007-04-23T22:26:00.001-07:002007-04-23T23:06:48.529-07:00Chlorine Free Paper – Caveat EmptorFor crying out loud, I just heard about another group getting jacked on a request for chlorine free paper. Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) paper was presented as filling the bill. This happens way too much. People need to understand this issue.<br /><br />Here is the simple and straightforward on how this happens. A paper buyer is concerned about the issue of chlorine use in pulp production and would like to minimize any impact by selecting paper using the most benign method to chemically produce and whiten pulp.<br /><br />This is where it gets tricky. Common paper marketing terminology uses several phrases, Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF), Process Chlorine Free (PCF) and Totally Chlorine Free (TCF).<br /><br />Ahhh…but all of these phrases have the words “Chlorine Free”…that’s the key…it is the first word in the phrase that needs to be focused on. Too many times paper buyers just hear the “chlorine free” part.<br /><br />Chlorine Free…sounds good right? But what’s the difference?<br /><br />Well, here is where I am going to bale on explaining the complexities of the bonding characteristics of chlorine, organochlorines, dioxin, furans, 2,3,7,8-TCDD and 2,3,7,8-TCDF and everything else. If you want a science lesson, this ain’t the place. For the explanations about all that, seek out other experts…maybe the guy who did all those swell Bell Lab science movies I saw in school, like “<em><strong>Our Friend Mister Sun</strong></em>.” This isn’t a science lesson, it’s an ENGLISH lesson.<br /><br />Starting back in the mid 1980’s there was a lot of concern about the interaction of chlorine and the formation of dioxin in the discharge at pulp mills. The US EPA took some action and much of the North American kraft pulp industry opted to replace existing chlorine gas use with other methods that were more acceptable under guidelines called “Cluster Rules”. The industry’s standpoint is that they were adopting “best available technology” to satisfy the requirements of the Cluster Rules. That best available technology chosen by and large are these Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) bleaching systems.<br /><br />Now cleaning up any process is going to involve debate about what goes far enough and what is acceptable. In 1906, <strong>Upton Sinclair</strong> wrote a muckraking blockbuster, <em><strong>The Jungle</strong></em>, about conditions in the meat packing industry. Claims that meat, and particularly sausage of the day, contained vermin, feces and even the occasional human body part, caused an uproar. The meat industry could not actually say there was an “acceptable level” of the above mentioned nastiness; the public demanded the industry fully correct the problem. The Federal government passed the Pure Food & Drug Act. Whether the meat industry and the government did or did not do enough about it is debatable. However, no doubt there were consumers who chose to be more selective (maybe even became vegetarians).<br /><br />So with paper, there are selective customers, some of whom want chlorine free paper. But the industry’s terminology may not meet the public’s understanding of what chlorine free means.<br /><br />So here is the simple breakdown.<br /><br />Most of the North American industry that uses timber for feedstock to make kraft pulp has converted to using <strong>Elemental Chlorine Free</strong> (<strong>ECF</strong>) bleaching processes, usually meaning chlorine dioxide is the active chemical compound used. ECF may meet the standards for acceptable non-detection of dioxin, depending on the scale of measurement, but the chemicals, such as chlorine dioxide, are actual compounds and derivatives of chlorine. There are also varying degrees of ECF, some better than others, such as Enhanced ECF (which involves Peroxide, Oxygen or Ozone <em>in conjunction with</em> Chlorine Dioxide).<br /><br />Currently, I know of only one timber based North American kraft pulp mill using a non-chlorine, <strong>Totally Chlorine Free</strong> (<strong>TCF</strong>) system, however that pulp is exported. In Europe, timber based kraft pulp from mills with actual TCF systems is more widely available.<br /><br /><strong>Process Chlorine Free</strong> (<strong>PCF</strong>) systems are common for kraft pulp in North America at the few mills that produce pulp from deinking, meaning the recycling of recovered paper. Most of the PCF kraft pulp and paper currently available in North America comes out of these deinking pulp mills. However, that does not mean that every deinking mill is PCF. I have certainly encountered one deinking pulp operation that says its system uses Hypochlorite, which is not PCF. PCF would involve Peroxide, Hydrosulfite, Oxygen, or Ozone.<br /><br />So the bottom line is, if you request chlorine free paper, be sure the paper provider can tell you what they mean by “Chlorine Free”. Ask what is used in the bleaching process.<br /><br />If they reply Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF), they refer to systems not using chlorine gas, but likely involve chlorine derivatives. And be aware that almost every timber based North American kraft pulp mill is ECF…meaning not much special.<br /><br />If Process Chlorine Free (PCF), that means the pulp is likely recycled fiber…a good thing. It could also be a combination of TCF virgin pulp and PCF recycled pulp. But just to be sure, it may be good to ask what are the chemicals involved. Peroxide, Hydrosulfite, Ozone or Oxygen are key words to listen for.<br /><br />Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) paper, right now, would likely have to come from pulp or paper imported from Europe and it would refer to virgin paper.<br /><br />These situations are particular to kraft papers. Mechanical paper in North America, can be made with pulps, such as BCTMP, which can have peroxide bleaching methods.<br /><br />There is a lot to know about this to really understand the issue. Actually, don’t go rent “<em>Our Friend Mister Sun</em>”, instead check out these guys for further information:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.rfu.org/">Reach for Unbleached </a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nrcm.org/dioxin_facts.asp">Natural Resources Council of Maine </a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.conservatree.org/paper/PaperTypes/CFDisc.shtml">Conservatree </a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.chlorinefreeproducts.org">Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA) </a><br /><br />The rampant confusion about pulp bleaching certainly cries out for an overseeing third party program. The above mentioned <strong>CFPA</strong> does certification of pulp bleaching systems for chlorine free claims.<br /><br />In the meantime regarding bleaching – ask for specifics about the process – don’t be hoodwinked.Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-57898570278611093382007-04-19T08:45:00.000-07:002007-04-20T14:24:06.571-07:00Ask Where Your Paper is From!I am learning about this blog stuff and one thing is you have to keep it up to date. So sorry if you tuned in and it hasn’t been fresh.<br /><br />There are a lot of good information sources out there on the web and from time-to-time I will help spread the word about them.<br /><br />The first I’d like to mention is the Environmental Paper Network’s<br /><a href="http://thepaperplanet.blogspot.com">The Paper Planet</a> Blog. With posts by <strong>Papyrus</strong>, <strong>Southern Q</strong> and others, the website is a go-to place to find out about new developments with environmental paper and serious issues that could harm development of the environmental paper markets. A few weeks back The Paper Planet posted links to the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/31/AR2007033101287.html?hpid=topnews">April 1, Washington Post</a> front-page article on the impacts of the paper producing boom and timber trade in China.<br /><br />Right now China is ramping up exports of newsprint and coated printing papers to the US. Less than 10 years ago newsprint and coated paper trade was flowing from North America to Asia, but now that is reversing. While China does have considerable capacity to produce recycled content newsprint, virtually no capacity exists to produce recycled content papers used for commercial printing of magazines, catalogs, gloss advertising papers and the like. And that type of virgin paper is arriving in the US from China with increasing frequency. So ask where your paper is from.<br /><br />Thanks to <strong>The Paper Planet</strong> blog for the nod a few weeks back concerning the start of this blog. The posting paired me with Leonardo DiCaprio as eco leaders! Hey big difference is that Leonardo can make money with his good looks…and I don’t appear on 687 tons of paper posing with polar bears (May issue of Vanity Fair).<br /><br />Happy Earth Day everyone.Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-55016563064472931452007-03-28T15:47:00.000-07:002007-03-29T00:00:32.075-07:00The Lowdown on Tree-Free PaperEvery week I get several calls or e-mails about hemp paper…but considering the number of calls I get, actual interest in creating a market for such a product seems to involve more smoke than a Cheech & Chong movie.<br /><br />OK, before the Hemp Army descends on me let me say this: I grew up in the Haight Ashbury before the Summer of Love started, I remember my grandmother calling the Flower Children who slept on her fire escape “juvenile delinquents”, which I mistakenly heard as “juvenile Lincolns”…(whatever that could be)…but it was cool with me and we had the double-door split-windshield VW bus…man, we were the real deal hippies before anyone…and we knew better than to try to smoke a banana. -- Gotta establish my hippie credentials here.<br /><br />Anyway, all this to say, yes I’ve talked to countless people about tree-free paper over the years and wide spread consumer support for tree-free paper from my point of view has essentially been a lot of talk. Simply put: If the hybrid vehicle market depended on the tire-kickers who inquire about tree-free paper, we would all be driving V-8s for years to come.<br /><br />I want to be clear that there are some very dedicated producers and marketers of nonwood papers. People who have put heart and soul to making tree-free paper a reality. For the most part the standard paper-making industry has ignored alternative fiber, other than the existing market for high-end cotton correspondence paper. What does currently exist in the alternative fiber paper market is out there due to the forward thinking and perseverance of a handful of individuals, not major paper producing corporations. People like Tom Rymsza, Carolyn Moran, Odette Kalman, Harry Johansing, Jeff Lindenthal and Rick Smith. If you are looking for treefree, alternative fiber, nonwood paper…it would be a good idea to support these guys and buy their products. Right now Paper Inc. ain’t really doing much as far as creating an infrastructure to utilize nonwood pulp.<br /><br />Follow this <a href="http://www.conservatree.org/treefree.html">link</a> to a piece I wrote for the Conservatree website. If you truly want tree-free paper, this is the guide to the current supply of alternative fiber papers. I really do believe that hemp and other nonwood fibers have great promise for the future of paper making. I may have started out giving the needle to the hemp paper advocates, but as you will see, I really reserve the jaundiced eye for the “environmentalists” who proposed plastic as a reasonable substrate for printed mass communications.<br /><br />If you find I have left off some nonwood alternative paper producer from the piece, by all means please contact me…and we can hash it out.Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-14585488323563994212007-03-21T16:00:00.000-07:002007-03-22T13:39:18.321-07:00How Ya Gonna Find Recycled Office Paper?Some years back I was driving to the one location in San Francisco that I knew for certain sold 100% postconsumer recycled copy paper. Halfway across town I thought, “How ridiculous is this?” Was the environmental impact of the drive defeating the purpose of trying to sustain the market for recycled paper? Back then obtaining ream quantities of recycled copy paper on a retail level was not a simple task—you had to know where to go.<br /><br />So where do you obtain recycled paper if you need it by the ream or carton?<br /><br />Lucky for me, one of the office supply superstores within walking distance now carries a good selection of recycled content office papers, including one brand that is 100% postconsumer recycled. Today, most paper users in the U.S. should be able to easily find recycled content copy paper.<br /><br />Generally speaking, recycled content paper has not had substantial market share growth in the past 10 – 15 years. Right now, only about 5% of the pulp used to create printing and office paper in North America is made with deinked recovered paper. The other 95% still comes from timber that is pulped or some small amount of preconsumer recycled fiber. Most of the paper collected in residential curbside and business recycling programs is recycled into packaging, newsprint or tissue, both here in North America, and increasingly, in overseas markets such as China. Very little gets made into office and printing paper. In fact, some of the mills that make commodity commercial printing papers have recently cut back on the percentage of deinked pulp used in their recycled brands.<br /><br />However, one of the really positive developments for environmental paper markets in the past few years has been the increase in availability of some types of recycled paper to consumers. This category of paper is sold as “copy," “laser," “inkjet," “multipurpose” and other similar applications. In the industry the grade is known as “reprographic” or “office paper”.<br /><br />A major reason for this increased availability has been the result of agreements brought about by The Paper Campaign, an effort led by environmental organizations Forest Ethics and the Dogwood Alliance, to have major paper distributors offer more recycled content paper and paper products in their stores. This effort has been extremely successful and is no doubt the reason why we can now easily obtain recycled content office paper more readily.<br /><br />Still, to maintain this availability, these products have to prove themselves as having market demand. Stocking the product in the store alone will not sustain the market for recycled paper products. The second part of the equation requires the consumer. Customers need to intentionally select and purchase recycled content paper.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">But how do you know where and what to buy?</span><br /><br />Some outlets are doing an outstanding job informing customers of recycled and environmental paper options. Many have recycled products available, to varying degrees—and still others could do a much better job of presenting recycled paper products.<br /><br />The websites and product catalogs for the major office supply distributors do a good job of highlighting and profiling recycled products using the Mobius Loop (the recycled chasing arrows logo) on products and listing recycled content percentages. Some go further with search functions to narrow the selection to recycled products or bundling environmental products together, such as in Office Depot’s “Green Book” office products catalog. These centralized marketing devices make it easy to put environmental papers “on the menu”.<br /><br />Where the major distributors fall short in promoting recycled paper products is at the walk-in “brick and mortar” retail stores. Some product wrappers do have recycled logos and content percentages; however the products are usually interspersed with a myriad of non-recycled products. Customers are required to literally get on their knees to scrutinize product labels. Shelf tags, when they exist, often offer very limited information to guide consumers. Store staff I have encountered have little in-depth knowledge of the paper products, likely the result of having thousands of products in stock and reserving information for items such as electronics, software and other more complex big-ticket items. In fact the positioning of reams of paper is classic loss leader marketing—always available but not as important to the bottom line as say, ink cartridges, digital cameras or office furniture.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">So what is the best option to obtain recycled content office paper?</span><br /><br />The best, most complete offerings appear to be through website or catalog purchasing. Selection and availability may be best through this avenue. However the fragile nature of the edges of ream wrapped paper could cause the product to suffer going through some non-direct delivery systems, and would require some additional, substantial protective packaging.<br /><br />The walk-in retail establishments may offer a more limited selection, but require less packaging and may be best if the location is convenient. The larger of the walk-in retail outlets may require customers to be fairly well informed about which product they would prefer and what to look for.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.conservatree.org/public/localsources/copypaper.html">Conservatree</a><a href="http://www.conservatree.org/public/localsources/copypaper.html"> </a>has created a very good listing of recycled content office papers—brands to look for and what the recycled content is. The listing is a selection of national and regional brands, many of which are marketed as reams directly to end-users. Large businesses and institutions such as universities purchase in greater quantities. Therefore the list does not include all private label, JWOD, WMBE or other branded products that may be available for large contracts or bids.<br /><br />Conservatree also has created a very good <a href="http://www.conservatree.org/public/pubimages/readawrapper.gif">primer</a> on what to look for on product labels when choosing recycled paper.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Here are some other tips:</span><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Standard Weight Paper</span><br /><br />Most paper in this grade has usually been 20lb and proven to perform well. There is a lot of marketing of the heavier 24lb papers, which are 16% more fiber by weight. For general printing, 20lb paper works fine—it also costs less and requires less material to produce.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Create a Market</span><br /><br />For years the advice to create a market and promote demand has been to let distributors know you want recycled paper…let the store manager know that you, the customer, would like them to carry it. This is a good idea and likely works well at local, independent retailers where they control the product selection. At the major chain distributors, the reality is that product selection is probably determined by the SKU barcodes that are scanned in at the checkout. Product stocking is influenced by the bean-counters at headquarters. So the best advice may be, at these locations, to find a brand you like and stick with it. One of the major knocks by the paper industry over the years has been that recycled paper is a fad. To create a market, consumers need to prove loyal customer demand. I remember the first branded 100% postconsumer recycled copy papers on the market…those brands are no longer made, likely due to perceived lack of demand.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Hot Tip</span><br /><br />April 22 is coming up—Earth Day. Unfortunately, in many cases Earth Day gets treated as just another consumer marketing device. Yeah, just like Christmas. Oh well. For sure the major office supply distributors will trot out any and everything with a recycled logo that day. Check the store circulars in the newspapers that week—bound to be some good specials on recycled paper, so stock up—and don’t forget to bring in those ink cartridges to recycle.Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693840883482625839.post-53807660502265233912007-03-21T15:57:00.000-07:002007-03-22T13:22:47.996-07:00Start of this BlogI hope to be able to answer questions and stir the conversation about environmental papers<br /><br />Please e-mail me at <a href="mailto:gerard@environmentalpaperconsulting.com">gerard@environmentalpaperconsulting.com</a><br /><br />Hope you find this informative.Gerardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487982180680080722noreply@blogger.com1