Sharing is Caring

This 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.

deadtreeedition.blogspot.com

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.

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.

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 containerboard production. Tell that to containerboard 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 paradigm...not 100%...but at least more than 6-8% of production.

Chlorine compound bleaching is used to separate lignin and brighten virgin kraft fiber production, and is not comparable to the bleaching (in many cases more benign) used for deinking.

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.

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.