Production Process
PULP AND PAPER MANUFACTURING
I
5
II III IV V VI
Introduction
Overview of pulp and paper manufacturing processes
Environmental and economic context for the recommendations
Recommendations for purchasing paper made with environmentally preferable processes
Implementation options
Answers to frequently asked questions
170
I. INTRODUCTION
PULP AND PAPER MANUFACTURING
This chapter and the Paper Task Force recommendations on pulp and paper manufacturing are intended to: • Enhance the awareness and knowledge of purchasers and users
This chapter presents the Paper Task Force’s recommendations and implementation options for buying paper products made with environmentally preferable manufacturing processes. It also provides a summary of the supporting rationale for the recommendations and an overview of pulp and paper manufacturing processes.
How Is Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Relevant to Purchasers?
Pulp and paper manufacturing accounts for the vast majority of the environmental impacts of the paper lifecycle. The manufacturing process that transforms wood from trees into thin, uniform paper products requires the intensive use of wood, energy and chemicals. This process also consumes thousands of gallons of a finite resource, clean water, to make each ton of paper. Pollution literally represents a waste of these resources, in the form of air emissions, waterborne wastes (effluent), solid waste and waste heat. Among primary manufacturing industries, for example, paper manufacturing is the fourth-largest user of energy and the largest generator of wastes, measured by weight.1 The paper industry and the nation’s environmental laws have done much to reduce the environmental impacts of pulp and paper manufacturing over the last 25 years. In this resource-intensive industry, however, environmental issues will always be an intrinsic part of manufacturing, especially since awareness of these impacts has increased among communities near mills
I
5
II III IV V VI
Introduction
Overview of pulp and paper manufacturing processes
Environmental and economic context for the recommendations
Recommendations for purchasing paper made with environmentally preferable processes
Implementation options
Answers to frequently asked questions
170
I. INTRODUCTION
PULP AND PAPER MANUFACTURING
This chapter and the Paper Task Force recommendations on pulp and paper manufacturing are intended to: • Enhance the awareness and knowledge of purchasers and users
This chapter presents the Paper Task Force’s recommendations and implementation options for buying paper products made with environmentally preferable manufacturing processes. It also provides a summary of the supporting rationale for the recommendations and an overview of pulp and paper manufacturing processes.
How Is Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Relevant to Purchasers?
Pulp and paper manufacturing accounts for the vast majority of the environmental impacts of the paper lifecycle. The manufacturing process that transforms wood from trees into thin, uniform paper products requires the intensive use of wood, energy and chemicals. This process also consumes thousands of gallons of a finite resource, clean water, to make each ton of paper. Pollution literally represents a waste of these resources, in the form of air emissions, waterborne wastes (effluent), solid waste and waste heat. Among primary manufacturing industries, for example, paper manufacturing is the fourth-largest user of energy and the largest generator of wastes, measured by weight.1 The paper industry and the nation’s environmental laws have done much to reduce the environmental impacts of pulp and paper manufacturing over the last 25 years. In this resource-intensive industry, however, environmental issues will always be an intrinsic part of manufacturing, especially since awareness of these impacts has increased among communities near mills