Is “Super White” Worth the Cost?

Let’s look at some of the energy stats from around the industry:

• The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) reports that recycled pulp requires 64% less energy than virgin pulp.[1]
• Friends of the Earth puts this even higher, at up to 70% less energy than for virgin pulp.[2]
• The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that making a ton of paper from recycled paper saves up to 17 trees and uses 50% less water.[3]

Because recycled paper comes from fiber that has already gone through the bleaching process, it also requires fewer chemicals. (Although not all bleaching agents these days are toxic.)

Some marketers sniff at recycled paper, however, because it’s not quite as bright as virgin stock. Yet, one could make the argument that the positive social image associated with recycling can easily offset any loss in brightness, if that was ever really important at all.

If the points above aren’t enough to overcome the “brightness” appeal, here are just a few more reasons to favored recycled stock. This list is compliments of Barefoot Press of Raleigh, NC.

• Environmental Defense Fund, an advocacy group, calculates that one ton of virgin uncoated paper (which accounts for 90% of paper used in the U.S.) consumes three tons of wood, more than 19,075 gallons of water, and generates 2,278 pounds of solid waste.
• U.S. pulp mills consume 12,430 square miles of forests around the world each year, an area almost the size of the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined.
• Globally, according to the Environmental Paper Network, 70% of trees used for paper pulp comes from biodiverse forests as opposed to tree farms, much of it from endangered forests.
• Illegal logging has destroyed or degraded 80% of the world’s ancient forests. These forests create oxygen and hold massive amounts of carbon dioxide in the plant life. When the forest is cleared, that carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Scientists estimate that preserving the world’s forests and managing land use sustainably would reduce CO2 emissions by one-quarter. Deforestation accounts for about 30% of the global warming pollution released into the atmosphere each year. (www.sierraclub.org/trade)
• Irresponsible logging undermines the culture and economy of millions of indigenous and rural people who depend on forests for their livelihood. It also leads to erosion, flooding, and water pollution, and creates conditions that erupt in violence and human rights abuses. (www.greenpeace.org)

How important does that “super whiteness” look now?