PAPER STORY- part II
photo credit: Manchester Library
Since now you know the problems and concerns surrounding both paper production and consumption, you probably wonder what you can do to minimize the damage done not only to our health but the environment as well.
Here are some tips for shopping and usage:
- Look for acid-free paper, especially if you want your work to last a long time. Most processes leave the paper slightly acidic, which affects its lasting capabilities.
- Purchase light weight paper, since it requires fewest materials to create it and most of it should meet your printing and copying needs.
- Recycle used paper. Not only does recycling save trees, it has many other benefits, such as keeping the heavy metals out of the waterways, producing new jobs, saving water and energy, and reducing the amount of landfill space used. Moreover, the production of recycled paper releases far less greenhouse gasses than virgin paper production.
- Purchase recycled paper. Here is a list of labels you should pay attention to and their explanation:
% Post-Consumer Waste (PCW)—defines what percentage is derived from consumer-generated paper (recycled from the solid waste stream). It is the most ecologically aware method of paper reuse. Look for the highest percentage number and stay clear (if you can) of ‘pre-consumer’ paper since it is the cause of mill waste.
% Recycled—means that a specific kind of paper contains a said amount of recycled material, including post- and pre- consumer paper. - Look for paper made from alternative fiber such as flax and linen, tobacco leaf, agricultural stalks and straws, bamboo, coffee-bean residue, esparto grass, seaweed, bagasse (leftover sugarcane stalks), old money, old clothing and ground junk-mail. The main substances (other than trees) for paper production available on the market are: kenaf (annual plant that produces twice the amount of fiber than pine, requires few pesticides and herbicides and is naturally whiter than wood pulp so it doesn’t need bleaching), cotton (rags, old clothes, old jeans and waste cotton from cotton mills) and hemp (produces excellent fiber for paper, is naturally lighter than wood and requires very few chemicals to grow).
- Look for paper that has some of the following CFPA certifications governing the bleaching process and the use of chlorine: TCF (Totally Chlorine Free)—applied to virgin paper pressed without chlorine or chlorine derivatives; PCF (Processed Chlorine Free)—applied to recycled paper, which is not further treated with chlorine or chlorine derivatives; ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free)—applied to paper treated with a chlorine derivative, e.g. chlorine dioxide.
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