Although we're increasingly going digital, paper production has surged by about 400% over the past 40 years. With good intentions, most of us believe that paper is a sustainable resource. But is it really?
Olivia from Redopapers dove into the research and started writing, because, as is often the case, there’s no simple answer to whether something is sustainable or not.
The paper production process
Let’s take you through the paper production process. The first ingredient is wood fiber. That means trees. Sounds a bit bad, doesn’t it? Around the world, a lot of ancient forests are disappearing due to deforestation, wildfires, and infrastructure and real estate projects. Moreover, it takes twice as much wood to produce a given amount of paper.
However, this is actually a silver lining since trees can always be replanted. In that sense, they’re an infinite renewable resource. Thanks to FSC or PEFC certification, you can rest assured that the used wood comes from sustainably managed forests. European forests, where more than 90% of the wood fibers for local paper mills are sourced, grow daily by an area the size of 1,500 football fields. More than 60% of these forests are certified, partly thanks to the support of the printing and paper industry.
“Without wood, there's no paper. The sector has every interest in keeping our forests intact”
How do you turn all that wood into paper? The main ingredient is water. A lot of water. On average, about 25 liters of water are used per kilogram of paper. When wood fibers are mixed with water, you get a sort of pulp that forms the basis of paper. Recycled paper uses less water, but the CO2 emissions can be higher due to de-inking processes, among other things. More on that later.
Speaking of CO2 emissions... brace yourself for a shocking figure. The paper industry is responsible for 7% of global annual CO2 emissions. That’s almost three times more than the aviation industry (2.5%).
Shit, order, read, repeat
This is because paper is absolutely everywhere. Every year, we produce around 414 million tons of it. In Belgium, paper consumption per capita is among the highest in the world. More than half of that is used for packaging, a third for printed materials (books, newspapers, magazines, etc.). The rest? Mostly toilet paper.
So, take a moment to reflect the next time you're reading the newspaper or placing an online order on the toilet.
Of course, this shitload of information (pun intended) needs a caveat. In Europe, we not only excel at consuming, but also at recycling.
Recycled paper, a sustainable alternative?
Yes, actually! Recycled paper requires much less energy, water, and fresh wood fibers. If the paper manufacturer reuses its wastewater and relies on sustainable energy sources, we’re in an even better place.
Europe leads the way in paper recycling: about 72% of our paper waste is processed again. Not bad! Yet, recycling paper isn’t all roses and sunshine.
First, a paper fiber can be reused about seven times on average. After that, it’s done and is turned into cardboard. But our massive demand for shipping boxes (yes, since COVID) has disrupted the recycling process: new paper fibers skip the recycling stage and are immediately degraded into cardboard. What a waste. Seriously. So much so that we devote a separate blog post to it.
Moreover, recycled paper often produces more CO2 emissions than new paper production. Processes that remove ink from the paper and the addition of chemical whiteners make recycled paper not exactly an eco-product. On top of that, paper is often coated with other (plastic) materials, which need to be separated from the reusable wood fibers during recycling.
We Europeans are also exceptionally good at one other thing: exporting our problems. In 2021, 4.4 million tons of paper waste were shipped to India, Indonesia, and Turkey. Ironically, once we realized that waste paper is a fantastic raw material, we imported 2.4 million tons back to Europe. Seriously though.
In summary, paper recycling is not an innocent process. Luckily, there’s something even better than recycling… and it’s called upcycling!
Upcycling paper is more sustainable than recycling
Upcycling, recycling, downcycling... consumers will soon lose track of it all. But there’s an important difference between upcycling and recycling, especially in terms of environmental impact.
With upcycling or reuse, the material is kept in its original form (or even improved in quality, hence the "up"). In recycling, the waste is broken down, processed, and used again as fibers in one or more new products.
At Redopapers, we upcycle paper before it gets recycled. We use existing waste streams (like misprints, test prints, old posters, and cutting waste from print shops) and cut and glue them into unique planners and notebooks. This way, we give valuable paper an extra round of use before it gets recycled.
By using what already exists, upcycling paper requires no extra raw materials: no water flows from the tap, and no trees are cut down.
“The positive impact of upcycling is truly enormous.”
The positive environmental impact of upcycling is indeed massive. In 2023, we saved 3.6 tons of paper from the waste pile, conserved 89,315 liters of water, and saved 376 square meters of plastic banners. Old roll-ups, facade banners, and mesh fabric screens can’t be recycled. Normally, they go straight to the incinerator, which consumes an enormous amount of energy. Redopapers turns them into protective notebook covers. By choosing a Redopapers upcycled notebook, you save over 1.5 kg of CO2 in one go.
Imagine if the entire printing industry made upcycling the standard: Mother Earth would be so grateful.
Paper upcycling: not without challenges
Of course, upcycling paper comes with its challenges. For example, we often get asked if we can do something with old flyers. Unfortunately, the answer is ‘no.’ Because of their small size and double-sided printing, we can’t make new cuttings from them to reuse.
Paper upcycling is — to put it mildly — a labor-intensive process. Where other paper brands order their designs ready-made from the printer, Redopapers goes the extra mile… or 100. Inspecting, selecting, cutting, and gluing waste paper into colorful tear-off pads involves a lot of manual work. Old banners are also washed by hand, cut, folded, and stitched into new covers.
Lots of challenges, but even more love for the craft. Although Redopapers is a small business, we hope to bring about significant change in upcycling practices over time.
But let’s get back to the main question... is paper sustainable or not?
So, is paper sustainable?
As so often, the answer isn’t straightforward. It depends on how you look at it. On the one hand, paper is an undervalued resource, and the industry is a major global polluter. On the other hand, the paper industry contributes to sustainable forest management, and paper is relatively easy to recycle. In our opinion, it’s even better to upcycle!
As long as the sector works together to improve every step of the production process, paper can look forward to a sustainable future.
And we, as users, can do our part. Use up all your paper scraps, reuse your cardboard boxes as much as possible, strike a nice balance between paper and digital reading, and yes… try using one sheet less on the toilet! :)
Sources:
Statista.com
Igepa.nl
Papier.be
New energy: Gerecycled Papier
Earthava.com: Going Paperless
Schooltv.nl: Hoe wordt papier gemaakt?
Peterprint.be: Hoe wordt papier gemaakt?
Europees Parlement: Hoe verpakkingsafval verminderen?
Papercm.com: Europa aan kop met recycling oud papier
Eurostat.eu
Bpost: Papier, een hernieuwbare en duurzame bron
De Correspondent: Is het nog wel verantwoord om papieren boeken uit te geven?
