Evaluating the Environmental and Economic Impacts of Pulps for Reprographic Papers, 1994 Environmental Conference Proceedings

Lauren Blum

A proactive corporation or organization can provide incentives to its suppliers to increase the availability of “environmentally preferable” paper by incorporating environmental considerations into its purchasing practices along with the traditional criteria of cost, function and availability. Environmentally preferable paper minimizes environmental impacts while meeting business needs for specific uses of paper. For this purchasing model to be effective, it must select pulps that meet functional requirements, that minimize the environmental impacts associated with the full lifecycle of paper and that can be produced in sufficient quantity at a competitive cost. A comprehensive evaluation of the environmental impacts includes an assessment of forest management practices, paper manufacturing processes, paper use, and ultimate disposition.

This paper examines one aspect of the purchasing model - the relative environmental and economic impacts of the manufacturing processes of four pulps that meet the general functional requirements for reprographic papers, paper that is widely used in most organizations. Bleached kraft pulps, bleached papergrade sulfite pulps, zero-effluent aspen alkaline peroxide BCTMP and deinked recovered fiber pulps were evaluated as potential furnishes. Pulps made from bleached kraft processes that maximize the amount of effluent recycled to the recovery boiler, apsen zero-effluent APP/BCTMP and deinked recovered fibers bleached without chlorine can be blended to produce an environmentally preferable reprographic paper. Today, papergrade sulfite pulps produced with totally chlorine-free bleaching processes are a satisfactory substitute for kraft pulps bleached with chlorine and/or sodium hypochlorite.