Sustainability

Paper Packaging: The Natural Choice

September 16, 2022

Submitted by Two Sides

Paper-based packaging is made with a renewable natural resource – trees grown in sustainably managed forests – and when well-designed, efficiently manufactured, appropriately used and recycled at the end of its useful life, provides a host of benefits for people and the planet.

The strength and durability of paper-based packaging powers global commerce by ensuring the safe and efficient transport of goods, and its versatility and visual appeal help businesses effectively market their products. It communicates vital information to consumers, and provides the tactile pleasure that comes with receiving a special delivery or opening a gift. And importantly, when paper-based packaging is recycled it extends the life of the natural resources used to produce it and prevents waste from going to landfills. The paper and wood products industry is inherently circular in its supply chain, from the regeneration of renewable resources (trees) that supply fiber to recycling packaging and paper that is recovered and turned into new products. The industry manufactures more with less by efficiently using wood fiber, reusing water and pulping chemicals multiple times, utilizing manufacturing residuals and byproducts to produce carbon-neutral biomass energy and optimizing the use of nonrenewable resources.²

The forest products sector is central to the ongoing transition to a low-carbon and circular future rooted in renewable natural resources, also known as the bioeconomy. With their ability to capture and store carbon, fiber-based materials feed into a broad array of renewable solutions that can substitute non-renewable and fossil-based materials in products we use every day.³ Paper and paperboard packaging – which includes corrugated cardboard boxes, folding cartons, rigid paperboard boxes, flexible packaging, sacks and bags – is often the preferred sustainable packaging choice of consumers.⁵ Its key raw material, wood fiber, is a renewable resource and it’s also the most recycled of all types of packaging materials.⁶

Paper-based packaging is recycled more than any other packaging material

The benefits of recycling paper-based packaging include extending the supply of a valuable natural resource (wood fiber), saving landfill space, avoiding greenhouse gas emissions of methane released when paper decomposes in landfills and reducing the amount of energy needed to produce some paper products.

Nearly 81% of all paper-based packaging in the US is recovered for recycling, and more than 96% of corrugated (cardboard) boxes are recycled. Only 14% of US plastic packaging is recycled.6 In Canada, the national recovery rate of old corrugated boxes for recycling is an estimated 85%, with at least one provincial recycling program reaching 98%.⁷ Corrugated box fibers are recycled 7-10 times to make new boxes and other paper products.⁸ Around 90% of folding cartons (by the ton) in North America sent to the frozen foods sector are made of recyclable paperboard, and are easily recyclable in the normal waste stream.¹⁰ In addition to being recyclable, paper and cardboard packaging is made with recycled fiber. In the US for example, the average corrugated box is made with 50% recycled content, and nearly all old corrugated containers are used to make new paper products.¹¹ In Canada, corrugated boxes and boxboard used for products like cereal and shoe boxes are mostly 100% recycled content.¹² Nearly all Americans¹³ and Canadians¹⁴ have access to community curbside and/or drop-off recycling programs for paper and paper-based packaging.

Paper-based packaging protects more resources than it consumes

Paper-based packaging is a versatile, cost-efficient and safe method to transport, protect and preserve a wide array of items. It is engineered to be sturdy, yet lightweight, and is customizable to meet product- or customer-specific needs.

Packaging plays a critical role in protecting products and resources, and often helps reduce and prevent waste—especially when it comes to food.¹⁷ On average, packaging makes up only 10% of a food product’s energy footprint. In contrast, the food itself accounts for about 50% of the product’s energy footprint. So, protecting that food through packaging means keeping a big part of its footprint in check.¹⁷ Cities exist with the help of packaging. Most of the food and other goods they require are grown and produced outside of urban centers.¹⁷ In 2019, 271 million Americans lived in urban areas; 31 million Canadians lived in urban areas.¹⁸ Corrugated packaging can be a critical supply-chain efficiency tool for cost-effective product protection from products’ points of origin to their points of purchase and end-use.¹⁹ When the results of the available field surveys are compared to the acceptable limit for microbial loads on corrugated containers versus reusable plastic containers (RPC) for fresh produce, 100% of corrugated containers met acceptable sanitation standards while percentages as low as 50% of RPCs evaluated did not meet these same standards.²⁰

The Recycled Paperboard Technical Association (RPTA) has developed a comprehensive program of testing and management systems, and uses a rigorous auditing process conducted by NSF International to assure brand owners that paper-based packaging products produced at North American RPTA-member mills are suitably pure for direct food contact packaging applications and meet all US Food and Drug Administration regulatory requirements that apply to recycled paperboard and corrugated board use in food packaging.²¹

Paper-based packaging supports healthy forests in North America

Sustainable forest management protects one of earth’s most important resources and ensures the long-term ability of the global forest products industry to meet society’s growing needs.

The use of wood fiber from sustainably managed forests promotes responsible long-term forest growth, so successfully in fact, that US forest area expanded an average of approximately 605,000 acres per year between 1990 and 2020.22 Canada’s forested area has remained quite stable for the past 25 years at approximately 857 million acres.²³ In 2019, 52% of the forest area in North America was certified to an independent, sustainable forest management standard (Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®), Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), the highest percentage of certified forestland anywhere in the world.²²

The production of paper-based packaging does not result in deforestation. Deforestation is defined as the conversion of forest to other land use independently, whether human-induced or not. The term specifically excludes areas where trees have been removed as a result of harvesting or logging, and where the forest is expected to regenerate naturally or with the aid of silvicultural measures.²²

The biggest threat to forests in the US is urbanization, but this threat can be mitigated by healthy markets for forest products, especially for products from highly productive working forests. Between 1982 and 2012, urban development was responsible for almost half (49.2% or 17.7 million acres) of all forestland that was converted to other uses in the United States.²⁵

The conversion of forest to agricultural land is decreasing but remains the largest contributor to deforestation in Canada. Harvesting, forest fires and insect infestations do not constitute deforestation since the affected areas will grow back. According to laws, regulations and policies in place across Canada, all areas harvested on public land must be reforested, either by replanting or through natural regeneration. About 94% of Canada’s forests are on public land.²⁶

Paper-based packaging helps tackle climate change

There are three ways to mitigate climate change: by avoiding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, by storing GHGs (carbon) in forests and forest-based products, and by capturing GHGs from the atmosphere. The manufacture, use and recycling of paper-based packaging contributes to all three.

Sustainable forestry practices increase the ability of forests to capture and sequester atmospheric carbon while enhancing other ecosystem services, such as improved soil and water quality. Planting new trees and improving forest health through thinning and prescribed burning are some of the ways to increase forest carbon in the long run. Harvesting and regenerating forests can also result in net carbon sequestration in wood products and new forest growth.²⁷

The forest products industry plays an important role in contributing to the production of renewable energy and reducing dependence on fossil fuel by using residuals and byproducts (biomass) to produce much of the energy required for its operations. Because trees absorb CO₂ when they grow, the international carbon accounting principle accepts that biomass is carbon neutral when combusted for energy.²⁹

The US paper and forest products industry reduced carbon emissions by 23.3% between 2005 and 2018. The Canadian paper and forest products industry reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 38% between 2006 and 2016.^2,30

The recycling of paper-based packaging avoids greenhouse gas emissions that result when paper products are landfilled. At about 44.2 million tons, paper and paperboard recycling in the U.S. resulted in a reduction of about 148 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e) in 2017. This reduction is equivalent to removing over 31 million cars from the road for one year.³¹

Nearly every piece of plastic begins as a fossil fuel, and greenhouse gases are emitted at each stage of the plastic lifecycle: 1) fossil fuel extraction and transport, 2) plastic refining and manufacture, 3) managing plastic waste, and 4) plastic’s ongoing impact once it reaches our oceans, waterways and landscape.³²

Paper-based packaging is practical, beneficial and appealing

Paper and cardboard are versatile and effective packaging materials, whether for storage or in transit, displayed in-store or used in the home.

Corrugated cardboard boxes are the backbone of the American supply chain. Some 38 billion packages are delivered safely in corrugated cardboard boxes each year. Corrugated packaging is frequently lightweight and can reduce shipping costs.³³

Most Americans (83%) agree that paper and cardboard packaging can be innovative. In fact, roughly seven in 10 feel that this type of packaging allows for more creative packaging designs than other packaging materials (75%) and that products packaged in paper or cardboard seem more artisanal or handcrafted (69%).³⁵

Corrugated cardboard can be cut and folded into an infinite variety of shapes and sizes and direct printed with high-resolution color graphics. Corrugated is custom designed to fit specific product protection, shelf space and shipping density requirements, including inner packaging that prevents shifting.³⁶

With the rise of plastic pollution, countless brands are opting for a more sustainable branding solution when it comes to their products’ packaging. This is where paper comes in. The eco-friendly material is recyclable and lightweight, making it perfect for food, coffee or dessert products. In addition to its environmentally friendly qualities, paper packaging is also easy to customize when it comes to color, text or graphics.³⁷

Paper-based packaging is preferred by customers

People look to product packaging to help them make decisions about what to buy. Perceptions of practicality, sustainability and quality all play a part.

When asked to rank their preferred packaging materials (paper and cardboard, glass, metal or plastic) based on 15 environmental, practical and visual/tactile attributes, US consumers ranked paper and cardboard packaging highest on 11 of 15 attributes, with 66% saying paper and cardboard packaging are better for the environment.³⁸

68% of US grocery shoppers ages 18 to 65 years consider it important to choose foods and beverages that are packaged responsibly, and 71% agree that foods and beverages with healthier ingredients should use packaging materials that are healthier too. Paper and glass packaging are considered to have the least negative environmental impact and perceived to be the healthiest options.⁴⁰

Consumers across the United States are willing to change their behavior to shop more sustainably. Nearly four in 10 (38%) are willing to spend more on a product if it is packaged using sustainable materials, and more than a third (36%) said they would consider avoiding a retailer who is not taking steps to reduce their use of non-recyclable plastic packaging.⁴¹

Most Americans agree that the design of a product’s packaging (72%) and the materials used to package a product (67%) often influence their purchase decisions when selecting which products to buy. For two thirds, paper and cardboard packaging makes a product more attractive than other packaging materials (67%), and a similar proportion agrees that paper and cardboard packaging make products seem premium or high quality (63%).⁴²

When asked which types of shopping bags – cotton/canvas, paper, lightweight plastic, lightweight compostable plastic and heavyweight plastic – best fit a variety of attributes, US consumers ranked paper shopping bags highest when it comes to the environment, favoring paper bags for being recyclable, compostable and made from renewable and recycled materials.⁵

Two Sides is a global, member-funded non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the uniquely sustainable attributes of print, paper and paper-based packaging. Two Sides’ 600+ members span the entire print, paper and paper-based packaging value chain, including forestry, pulp, paper, packaging, inks and chemicals, finishing, publishing, printing, envelopes and mail operators. For more information about Two Sides North America, visit www.twosidesna.org.

References

World Wildlife Fund, 2020
American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), 2020
World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2019
World Economic Forum (WEC), 2016
Two Sides and Toluna, 2020
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2017
Paper and Paperboard Environmental Council, 2020
Fibre Box Association (FBA), 2020
WEC, 2016
Paperboard Packaging Council, 2019
FBA, 2020
Paper & Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC), 2019
AF&PA, 2019
PPEC, 2020
Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017
AF&PA, 2020
World Wildlife Fund, 2014
The World Bank, 2020
FBA, 2020
Haley & Aldrich, Inc., 2015
Recycled Paperboard Technical Association, 2020
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2020
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), 2019
AF&PA, 2020
Forest2Market, Inc., 2017
NRCan, 2020
USDA Forest Service, 2020
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2018
International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA), 2020
NRCan, 2019
US EPA, 2020
Center for International Environmental Law, 2019
FBA, 2020
BigCommerce, 2019
Ipsos, 2018
FBA, 2019
Trend Hunter, 2014
Two Sides and Toluna, 2020
Mordor Intelligence, 2020
EcoFocus, 2018
Two Sides and Toluna, 2020
Ipsos, 2018

Advancing Paper Recycling’s Success into the Future

June 8, 2022

By Jan Bottiglieri, editorial director, Tappi

Paper is one of the most widely recycled materials in the US. The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) is committed to investing in recycling infrastructure and educating about recycling best practices. Case in point: AF&PA commissioned the 2021 Access to Recycling Study, a comprehensive national report that tracks and measures the growth of access to community and paperboard recycling in the US.

AF&PA has created extensive resources to educate others about the importance of paper recycling. The association is also working with its partners to help reduce contamination and increase participation in recycling programs. Ahead of the Curve has pulled together some of these resources to bring you this column – make sure to share with friends and colleagues inside and outside of our industry to celebrate this “success story” about paper recycling.

And the survey says…

“The findings presented in the 2021 AF&PA Access to Recycling Study show us that community recycling programs for paper and paper-based packaging are well-developed and widely accessible. This is good news when so many individuals are looking to make a difference on behalf of the environment,” notes Heidi Brock, AF&PA president
and CEO.

The study shows 94% of Americans have access to community paper recycling programs. Also, 79% of Americans have access to residential-curbside recycling programs. That’s an increase of about 14 million people since 2014, the last time AF&PA conducted a study.

Many paper products used every day across the US have a high community access rate of 80% or more. This means that things like cardboard boxes, newspapers, paper bags, pizza boxes, and magazines are widely accepted for recycling.

“Remarkably, in 2020, during a period defined by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost two-thirds of paper was recycled and transformed into new sustainable paper products,” Brock says. “The resilience of our industry is clear, as is the active participation of consumers in making paper recycling the success it is today.”

Survey background

AF&PA’s 2021 Study measures curbside and drop-off community recycling programs provided through municipal or county governments, organized via contract or franchised through a private hauler, or available to residents via subscription services or privately operated drop-offs. This definition varies slightly from the 2014 Study which did not include subscription recycling programs or privately operated drop-offs. Below are a few of the survey method details available in the Report’s Executive Summary:

Similar to previous studies, the Project Team collected data on recycling programs from two research groups:

Largest recycling programs – This set includes approximately 3,700 of the largest recycling programs serving about 80% of the US population.

Small communities – For the population outside of the largest counties, a random sampling of communities (400) was searched with the results extrapolated to the remaining 20% of the US population.

Through a direct verification process, the survey evaluated guidelines for both curbside recycling programs and drop-off recycling programs available to residents. For each community in the sample, project staff evaluated recycling program information provided by the local unit of government either directly on its official web page or via other resource (such as newsletters or hauler and/or recycler websites), typically as directed by the community.

Using a five-point ranking system, the Project Team rated the resident guidance language of each recycling program to characterize its acceptance/exclusion of the materials in both recycling guidelines (such as images, lists, or PDF flyers) and lookup tools/apps/waste wizards (such as ReCollect or Recycle Coach) where available, to capture nuances between the sets of guidelines. The ranking system is as follows:

Explicitly Accepted: Specifically mentioned or pictured as accepted in the recycling program.
Implicitly Accepted: Not specifically mentioned or pictured but considered accepted based on broader acceptance categories and context of the material.
Unclear or Contradictory Information: Guidelines on material acceptance were contradictory or ambiguous.
Implicitly Denied: A proxy package (similar use or material) is specifically denied, or a detailed list of accepted items does not include this specific item.
Explicitly Denied: Specifically mentioned or pictured as prohibited in the recycling program.

The data collection was conducted over a 10-week period from June to August 2021, thus the study findings are representative of that time period. It should be recognized that programs and service availability in a given program are subject to change at any time.

A few other findings

Single-stream recycling – where all fiber grades and recyclable containers are collected commingled together in one compartment on the recycling collection vehicle – has been a growing trend for more than 20 years. The prevalence of single-stream collection was first evaluated in the 2000 Study and has continued to be evaluated in the subsequent studies. The growth in single-stream recycling has steadily increased. In 2005, only 29% of the population with recycling had access to a single-stream program. By 2021, that number has increased to 86%.

Overall, compared with 2014 results, the Project Team found recycling access rates for paper materials such as newspapers, office paper, magazines, etc. to be fairly consistent in 2021. Access to recycling of many of these materials fluctuated 1% to 3% since 2014, consistent with the 2% drop in overall recycling. However, all of these paper materials still have a population access rate of 90% or higher.

According to the study’s Forward by Heidi Brock, the pulp and paper industry “has planned or announced approximately US$5 billion in manufacturing infrastructure investments from 2019-2023 to continue the best use of recycled fiber in our products. That is nearly US$2.5 million per day in investments.”

What YOU can do

As mentioned above, you can start by sharing this article and continuing to educate yourself and others about the pulp and paper industry’s remarkable recycling success. In addition, the AF&PA encourages all industry stakeholders to “dive in and help amplify the good news” by accessing any of the following resources:

Downloading the AF&PA toolkit
Sharing the Update-in-Brief
Linking to the study
Reading Heidi Brock’s Industry Take

“Ours is an industry that has developed an effective and efficient system for recycling over the past decades. Producer responsibility is something we do on a voluntary and market-driven basis,” Brock adds. “Yet, the commitment to do more has strengthened. The AF&PA’s latest sustainability initiative (Better Practices, Better Planet 2030: Sustainable Products for a Sustainable Future) builds on our industry’s success and continues our commitment to manufacture sustainable products.”

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) serves to advance US paper and wood products manufacturers through fact-based public policy and marketplace advocacy. AF&PA member companies make essential products from renewable and recycle resources, generate renewable bioenergy, and are committed to continuous improvement through the industry’s sustainability initiative. Visit AF&PA online at afandpa.org.

This article originally appeared in the TAPPI newsletter, Ahead of The Curve. Subscribe for free at www.tappi.org/news/newsletters/ahead-of-the-curve/.

Electronic Communication – Is Paper a Better Choice?

March 22, 2022

By Two Sides North America

As global demand for resources continues to grow, a sustainable future will depend heavily on the use of products that are highly recyclable and based on renewable materials and energy, as opposed to non-renewable materials produced with fossil fuel energy. Paper is well positioned given its unique sustainable features. “Go paperless, go green” is a common claim that encourages us to switch to electronic transactions and communications. But are appeals to help the environment by eliminating paper based on sound science or on marketing strategies?

The responsible production, use and recycling of print and paper contribute to long-term, sustainable forest management in North America and help mitigate climate change. Print and paper will remain an important element in our media mix, and also will continue to provide social and economic benefits that contribute significantly to the well-being of North American businesses and citizens alike.

Environmental marketing rules often are broken

A study by Two Sides found that half the leading Fortune 500 telecommunications companies, banks and utilities were making unsubstantiated claims about the environmental benefits of electronic billing. In response, Two Sides initiated a campaign to educate senior executives on the sustainability of print and paper and to encourage them to abandon misleading environmental claims. As of June 2021, 146 North American companies and over 700 globally had removed or changed inaccurate anti-paper claims.¹

Marketing claims like “go green, go paperless” do not meet guidelines for environmental marketing established by the US Federal Trade Commission and the Competition Bureau of Canada. Marketers must ensure that all reasonable interpretations of their claims are truthful, not misleading and supported by reliable scientific evidence.^2,3

A recent consumer survey commissioned by Two Sides in the United States showed that 57% of respondents agreed that claims about switching from paper to digital being better for the environment were made because the sender wants to save money.⁴

Digital information has an environmental impact

The material footprint of digital technology is largely underestimated by its users, given the miniaturization of equipment and the “invisibility” of the infrastructures used. This phenomenon is reinforced by the widespread availability of services on the “cloud,” which makes the physical reality of use all the more imperceptible and leads to underestimating the direct environmental impacts of digital technology.⁵

In 2015, the global energy footprint of the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector was 805 terawatt hours (TWh) or 3.6% of global energy consumption.⁶

The share of digital technology in global greenhouse gas emissions could reach 8% by 2025, i.e. the current share of car emissions.⁷ Data centers on their own could produce 1.9 Gt (or 3.2%) of the global total carbon emissions.⁸

The energy consumption required for digital technologies is increasing by 9% each year.5 Depending on the level of energy efficiency achieved, ICT could use as much as 51% of global electricity in 2030 and contribute up to 23% of globally released greenhouse gas emissions.⁹

By 2023, North America will have 345 million internet users (up from 328 million in 2018), and 5 billion networked devices/connections (up from 3 billion in 2018).¹⁰

In 2014, data centers in the US consumed an estimated 70 billion kWh, representing about 1.8% of total US electricity consumption. Based on current trend estimates, US data centers are projected to consume approximately 73 billion kWh in 2020. This energy consumption does not include the energy required to build, power or recharge the devices.¹¹

An analysis of 113 ICT companies in the US showed that 14% of the energy consumed was from renewable electricity in 2014.¹² This compares to 65% of energy demand met at US pulp and paper mills by carbon-neutral biomass and renewable fuels in 2018.¹³

E-waste is a growing problem

The vast majority of Americans – 96% – now own a cellphone of some kind. The share of Americans that own smartphones is now 81%, up from just 35% in 2011.¹⁴

Nearly three-quarters of US adults now own desktop or laptop computers, roughly half now own tablets and roughly half own e-readers.¹⁴

Since technologies change quickly, many users change devices regularly; often before they actually break. Average replacement cycles are becoming shorter. The average smartphone lifecycle in the US, China and major EU economies does not usually exceed 18 to 24 months.¹⁵

In 2019, the world generated 53.6 million metric tons (Mt) of electronic waste, and only 17.4% of this was officially documented as properly collected and recycled. The amount recycled grew 1.8 Mt since 2014, but total e-waste generation increased by 9.2 Mt. This indicates that the recycling activities are not keeping pace with the global growth of e-waste.¹⁶

The US and Canada annually generate 7.7 million metric tons (Mt) of electronic waste or 20.9 kilograms (kg) per capita. Of that 7.7 Mt, the US generates 7 Mt and Canada generates 0.7 Mt. Only 15% of e-waste in North America is recycled.¹⁶ This compares to 66% of paper and paperboard recycled in the US¹⁷ and 70% recycled in Canada.¹⁸

Increasing levels of e-waste, improper and unsafe treatment, and disposal through incineration or in landfills pose significant challenges to the environment, human health and to the achievement of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.¹⁶

E-waste contains precious metals including gold, silver, copper, platinum and palladium; valuable bulky materials such as iron and aluminum along with plastics that can be recycled. It also contains rare earth and scarce metals as well as hazardous materials such as mercury, lead, cadmium, fluorocarbons or various flame retardants.¹⁶

The increasing need for raw materials (especially for rare earth and minor elements) and unregulated e-waste recycling operations in developing and underdeveloped counties contribute to the growing concerns for e-waste management.¹⁹

Sources

Two Sides, 2021
Federal Trade Commission, Green Guides, 2012
Competition Bureau, Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers, 2008
Toluna and Two Sides North America, 2021
The Shift Project, Lean ICT. Towards Digital Sobriety, 2019
Malmodin and Lunden, 2018
The Shift Project, The Unsustainable Use of Online Video, 2019
Andrae, A., Total Consumer Power Consumption Forecast, 2017
Andrae and Edler, 2015
Cisco, Cisco Internet Annual Report, 2020
U.S. Department of Energy, United States Data Center Energy Usage Report, 2016
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Renewable Electricity Use by the U.S. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry, 2015
AF&PA, 2020 Sustainability Report
Pew Research Center, 2019
Global E-Waste Monitor, 2017
Global E-Waste Monitor, 2020
Paperrecycles.org, 2020
Forest Products Association of Canada, 2020
Tansel, B., From electronic consumer products to e-wastes: Global outlook, waste quantities, recycling challenges, 2017

Two Sides North America is a non-profit organization whose members span the entire print, paper, paper-based packaging and mail value chain. Funded entirely by membership dues, Two Sides is the only industry organization that directly challenges unsubstantiated environmental claims about paper made by corporations, the media, government agencies and others. Learn how to join at www.twosidesna.org/become-a-member.

Paper, Climate Change and Common Sense

December 9, 2021

By Kathi Rowzie, vice president of operations, Two Sides North America

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released updated projections about the effects of human activity on the planet, warning that inaction to immediately address climate risk will yield dire consequences. The IPCC’s conclusions and recommendations will no doubt be the subject of continuing debate, but there are three things that most people agree on: the climate is warming, humans play a role and we need to do something about it.

However, without broad-based public understanding of how the environment works, there is an unfortunate tendency to believe that all manufacturing industries and processes must be part of the problem. This is a misconception that some in the Environmental Non-Governmental Organization (ENGO) community and the news media are only too happy to exploit. They push the thoroughly unscientific narrative that paper contributes massive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to the atmosphere, a byproduct of tree harvesting, manufacturing processes and paper waste. Far from mitigating climate change, it’s a narrative that could stifle an industry that is, in reality, a part of the solution.

Mitigating climate change demands a common-sense approach that is grounded in sound science, embraces proven strategies and invests in driving continuous improvement. This approach, in a nutshell, is why the North America paper and paper-based packaging industry is a climate mitigation leader.

Paper’s carbon footprint

A look across the life cycle of paper shows that its carbon footprint can be divided into three basic elements: carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions and avoided emissions. Each of these elements is influenced by important characteristics that distinguish paper from other products: it’s made from a renewable resource that stores carbon, it’s manufactured using mostly renewable, carbon-neutral energy, and it’s easily recyclable.

Sustainable forestry and carbon sequestration

Sustainable forest management, the cornerstone of the North American paper and paper-based packaging industry, helps increase the ability of forests to sequester carbon while also protecting and conserving other forest values like soil, air and water quality; wildlife habitat and biodiversity. An infinitely renewable resource, healthy forests sequester carbon by capturing CO₂from the atmosphere and transforming it into biomass through photosynthesis. The carbon stored in forests helps to offset releases of CO₂ into the atmosphere from sources like the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation (the permanent loss of trees).

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that sustainable forest management practices resulted in net carbon sequestration each year between 1990 and 2018. As reported in the agency’s Inventory of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and Sinks, US forests and wood products captured and stored roughly 12% of all carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions in 2018. CO₂e is a measure of the global warming potential of all GHGs compared to CO₂. The Canadian government reported that forestlands captured and stored around 19% of the country’s total CO₂e emissions in 2018.

Planting new trees and improving forest health through thinning and prescribed burning are some of the ways to increase the uptake of forest carbon in the long run. According to the US Forest Service, the perpetual cycle of harvesting and regenerating forests can also result in net carbon sequestration in products made from wood and in new forest growth. In its 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization reported that net forest area in the US increased by approximately 18 million acres between 1990 and 2020, while net forest area in Canada remained stable at around 857 million acres during those same years.

The paper industry and greenhouse gas emissions

The North American paper and paper-based packaging industry was among the first industries to take voluntary action to reduce GHG emissions. Between 2011 and 2019, the US industry reduced greenhouse gas emissions from 44.2 million metric tons to 35.2 million metric tons or 20%, according to the EPA. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) reports that between 2007 and 2017 the Canadian industry reduced GHG emissions from 22 million metric tons to 13.1 million metric tons or 40%.

These reductions are attributed to the predominant use of carbon-neutral, wood-based biofuel (which accounts on average for around 60% of energy generation at North American mills), the switch from coal and oil to less carbon intensive fuels such as natural gas, and investment in equipment and process enhancements that improved overall energy efficiency. Contrary to the claim that the North America paper and paper-based packaging industry is a major contributor to GHG emissions, EPA and NRCan data show that US and Canadian producers account for only 0.5% of total GHGs in their respective countries. A continuing increase in the use of biomass energy at North American mills has the potential to reduce GHG emissions even further.

Some in the ENGO community argue that because biomass releases just as much CO₂in the atmosphere as fossil fuels, it isn’t really carbon neutral. But the US Department of Energy (DOE) and other experts disagree. As DOE explained, “Burning biomass releases about the same amount of carbon dioxide as burning fossil fuels. However, fossil fuels release carbon dioxide captured by photosynthesis millions of years ago – an essentially ‘new’ greenhouse gas. Biomass, on the other hand, releases carbon dioxide that is largely balanced by the carbon dioxide captured in its own growth.”

In other words, biomass contains carbon that was only recently removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis, and that same carbon is returned to the atmosphere as part of the natural carbon cycle when it is burned to generate energy. This inherent property exists whether or not trees are regrown. Sustainable forest management practices help make sure that biofuel use does not outpace forest regrowth. The IPCC concluded that, “Regardless of how carbon neutrality is defined and calculated, the use of forest biomass produced under conditions where forest carbon stocks are stable or increasing always yields long-term mitigation benefits.”

Avoided emissions: Paper’s recycling success story

When paper products are sent to landfills, they release GHGs as they decompose. When they are recycled, these GHG emissions are avoided. That’s a significant environmental benefit when considering that around two-thirds of all paper and paper-based packaging is recovered for recycling in the US and Canada, more than plastics, glass and metals combined. When singling out corrugated cardboard, the recovery rate jumps to nearly 90%. The EPA reported that the amount of paper and paper-based packaging that was recycled instead of going to landfills lowered US GHG emissions by 155 million metric tons of CO₂e in 2018, an amount equivalent to taking over 33 million cars off the road for an entire year.

The North American paper industry continues to invest billions of dollars in technology to increase the types of paper products that can be recycled as well as infrastructure investments that expand recycling capacity. For example, US producers have announced or planned $4.5 billion in manufacturing infrastructure investments by 2023, more than $2.5 million per day. The industry also is focused on “recyclable by design” innovations that help brands, retailers and other end users develop fully recyclable paper packaging by eliminating non-recyclable elements.

Paper producers’ commitment to sustainable forest management; the use of renewable, carbon neutral energy; and strong support and investment in recycling have transformed the circularity of paper products from vision to reality and will help to drive further GHG emission reductions.

Two Side North America is an independent, non-profit organization that promotes the sustainability of print, paper and paper-based packaging, and dispels common environmental misconceptions about paper products. It is part of the Two Sides global network, which operates across North America, South America, Europe, Australia and South Africa. For more information, visit www.twosidesna.org.

Special Effects Help Spur Greeting Card Sales

December 9, 2021

By Hallie Forcinio, writer, PostPress

Holiday greeting cards are flooding the mail despite supply chain difficulties, postage costs and the expectation that delivery times may not be much better than in 2020. About three-fourths of consumers who send holiday cards do so because they know how good it feels when they receive a holiday greeting, according to a fact sheet from the Greeting Card Association (GCA).

Sending greeting cards is particularly popular with Millennials, the second-largest demographic of greeting card purchasers. Although Baby Boomers buy more cards, Millenials spend more per card (an average of $6).

Electronic greetings haven’t supplanted printed cards and account for a small percentage of overall greeting card sales, according to the GCA. Its research indicates eight out of 10 people agree that greeting cards cannot be replaced by social media and 60% say that receiving cards and letters in the mail “means more to me” than an email. Mailed messages evoke positive feelings with 65% of consumers observing that receiving a card in the mail lifts their spirits. With the added element of surprise, an unexpected greeting “just because” is especially treasured.

Posty Cards, a specialist in B2B products, reports minimal impact from digital competition. “In our business greeting cards niche, we didn’t see big migration to email in the first place,” reported Jane Coats, director of marketing at Posty Cards. She added, “We have heard anecdotes from customers who tried replacing printed cards with email and found that they got poor results. Good old-fashioned greeting cards are proving to be even more effective for personal contact in this digital age, especially when more people are working remotely and email security concerns are high. Most would agree that it feels much more personal to find a greeting card in the mailbox vs. a birthday email that’s likely to get flagged as spam anyway. Studies have shown that a real card is much more memorable.”

Special effects have wide appeal. Foiled finishes are among the top five greeting card trends identified in a blog by Designer Becca James, posted on February 18, 2021, on Printed.com, a digital printer of customized and customer-designed greeting cards, invitations and other products.

Coats agreed, noting “Foil designs on our greeting cards continue to be very popular and account for a significant portion of our sales. Business users from real estate agents to financial planners often select foil designs as a way to portray success and make a great impression on the recipient.” In fact, she said, “We are seeing more customers choose our premium designs that feature multiple foil embellishments on premium paper, such as metallic.”

Sustainable products

Sustainability is another trend in the greeting card industry. “In the last few years, we have seen more and more customers include sustainability as a part of their buying decision,” reported Coats. “And, we have experienced increased sales in our Sustainable Sentiments^® line of recycled greeting cards, which includes environmentally inspired designs for users who want to portray concern for the environment. The company is FSC^® certified, and products are printed with soy ink on recycled or FSC paper. Cards are packaged with recycled, recyclable materials.”

The company’s commitment to the environment goes beyond its products, however. “We recognize that using green materials is only part of the picture,” said Coats. “Therefore, our entire facility is certified at the highest level of sustainability for building design and operation — LEED Platinum. We also strive to continually improve the sustainability of our processes. We were one of the first print facilities to achieve SGP certification for our operation, and we are the first printer in the United States certified as a platinum-level TRUE^® Zero Waste facility. In addition, 100% of our electricity is Green-e certified, with over 20% generated onsite via solar panels and the balance offset with renewable wind power.”

In the United Kingdom, UK Greetings (UKG), a part of the American Greetings family, is taking similar actions. It recently announced all its cards will be offset through the World Land Trust’s Carbon Balanced Paper program. The move will offset nearly 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents associated with the production of the board it uses for the 200 million cards it produces each year.

“UKG is committed to reducing our impacts in every aspect of our business,” said Chris Shaw, head of sustainability at UKG. He explained, “Since 2019, we have removed over 250 metric tons of single-use plastic from our cards and reduced our carbon footprint by 400 metric tons simply by improving our energy efficiency. With paper being our primary raw material, we work closely with our suppliers to help ensure that every single card and paper product can be physically traced back to sustainably managed forests. Choosing Carbon Balanced Paper was, therefore, a natural next step in our sustainability journey.”

By choosing Carbon Balanced Paper, UK Greetings will fund the protection of 635 acres of threatened habitat in the Khe Nuoc Trong region of Vietnam, a remnant of biodiverse tropical forest in a land blighted by deforestation. The area provides a sanctuary for a rich array of threatened wildlife, including one of the world’s rarest large mammals, a bovine, known as a saola, or “Asian unicorn,” as well as Critically Endangered species like the Sunda pangolin (a scaled anteater) and the red-shanked douc langur, a species of monkey. “We are thrilled to support World Land Trust in their efforts to protect the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats,” concluded Shaw.

Supply chain challenges

Although Posty Cards expects business to return to pre-pandemic levels this year, Coats admitted that staying ahead of supply chain issues has been a challenge. Lead times on paper have increased dramatically, and material and delivery costs are rising. “So far,” she said, “delivery of our products has not been impacted.” However, even if deliveries can be made on time, rising costs “could force future price increases.”

Sun Chemical Releases Latest Edition of Its Annual Sustainability Report

December 2, 2021

Sun Chemical, Parsippany, New Jersey, has released the latest edition of its Corporate Sustainability Report, which focuses on the organization’s commitment to a sustainability strategy comprised of three key pillars: operations, products and services, and collaborations. The latest report shows that Sun Chemical achieved its recent energy and water usage goals and outlines new initiatives for the company.

Under operations initiatives, it stated that it had a long-term strategic target to reduce CO₂ levels by at least 50 percent by 2030, building on the company’s previous target of 30 percent, the reduction of water usage by 6 percent compared to 2019 and the reduction of overall waste sent to landfills by 6.5 percent compared to 2019.

For products and services, one of the initiatives was to develop products that decrease overall packaging and weight or waste, such as the water-based SunVisto^® AquaSafe and sheet-fed SunPak^® DirectFood Plus direct-food-contact inks that enable packaging lightweighting by allowing for removal of protective film layers.

Under collaborations, the company stated it is developing proof-of-concepts for collaborative industry projects that contribute to the enhancement of packaging sustainability and recycling, including monomaterial MDO-PE barrier flexible packaging with Elif.

The Sun Chemical sustainability report is available to customers and can be requested at https://www.sunchemical.com/sustainability/.

Top 5 Things to Know About No-Cost Plant Assessments

September 9, 2021

By Liz Stevens. writer, PostPress

The US Department of Energy (US DOE), through its Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs), offers no-cost expert assessments to small- and medium-sized manufacturers. The assessments are conducted by teams at 31 universities around the US and result in reports with detailed recommendations. Here are the top five things to know about this valuable US DOE program.

The Offer

Since 1976, the DOE has offered no-cost, site-specific expert assessments and analyses to manufacturers. The program is aimed at improving energy efficiency, reducing waste and increasing productivity by making recommended changes to processes and equipment. More than 18,000 assessments have been completed.

Manufacturers may contact an Industrial Assessment Center (formerly called Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Centers) at a participating university in their region to explore the assessments, analyses and resulting reports. IACs at these universities train the next-generation of energy-savvy engineers, more than 60% of whom pursue energy-related careers upon graduation. IAC assessments are conducted by engineering faculty along with upper class and graduate students.

For qualified manufacturers, a remote survey of the plant will take place, after which an IAC team will arrive for a one- to two-day on-site visit. The team will later perform detailed analyses of the site’s specifics and make recommendations in a confidential report with estimates of costs, performance and payback times. The IAC team will follow up to learn which recommendations have been implemented.

The Criteria

Manufacturers can contact the closest IAC location to explore or initiate an assessment if they meet these criteria:

Within Standard Industrial Codes (SIC) 20-39
A US manufacturer located less than 150 miles from a participating university
Gross annual sales below $100 million
Fewer than 500 employees at the plant site
Annual energy bills more than $100,000 and less than $2.5 million
No professional in-house staff to perform the assessment

IAC locations are spread across the continental US. IAC locations in the West are located in Colorado, Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho and Utah. In the South, IACs are found in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. IACs in the Midwest are in Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska. In the Southeast, IACs are in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina. For the Northeast region, IACs are located in Delaware, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia.

The Nitty Gritty: An assessment in the printing industry

An assessment conducted by the IAC Center at the University of Utah in 2020 for a Utah-based commercial printer with a plant size of 525,000 sq. ft. resulted in recommendations which would result in an estimated $44,400 in yearly energy and other savings. The recommendations included modifying the facility to avoid excess maintenance costs, utilizing higher-efficiency lamps and/or ballasts, using a cooling tower or economizer to replace chiller cooling, rescheduling plant operations or reducing load to avoid peaks, eliminating leaks in inert gas and compress air lines/valves, eliminating or reducing compressed air usage, and rescheduling and rearranging multiple-source heating systems.

The Top Five Recommendations

In 2020, for SIC code 2752 (commercial printing, lithographic), these recommendations were made most frequently:

Eliminate leaks in inert gas and compressed air lines/valves (This is a biggie: It appears in the top five recommendations for 2020 for all SIC codes.)
Utilize higher-efficiency lamps and/or ballasts
Use most efficient type of electric motors
Analyze flue gas for proper air/fuel ratio
Reschedule plant operations or reduce load to avoid peaks
Insulate bare equipment

The Database

The IAC Database is available for exploration by anyone interested in seeing the contours of assessments and recommendations. As of June 2021, the database contained 19,427 assessments and 146,971 recommendations.

The Database can be searched by assessment particulars (industry type, size, year, energy costs, products), by recommendations (type, savings, cost, implementation status) and by industry type (SIC or NAICS code).

For more information about the DOE Industrial Assessment Centers and their no-cost assessments, visit https://www.energy.gov/eere/amo/industrial-assessment-centers-iacs.

In North America, we grow many more trees than we harvest

NORTH AMERICAN FORESTS ARE A RENEWABLE RESOURCE THAT IS CONTINUOUSLY REPLENISHEDUSING SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT.

It has been a misconception for sometime by consumers and others on the use of forests for paper manufacturing. Here are a few facts, compiled by Two Sides North America (www.twosidesna.org) on sustainable forest management.

Paper manufacturers encourage forest sustainability through their purchase and use of certified wood fiber and by promoting sustainable forest management policies and practices at home and around the globe. By providing a dependable market for responsibly grown fiber, the paper industry encourages landowners to manage their forestland instead of selling it for development or other non-forest uses.¹
Net forest area in the U.S. has been stable since the early 1900s and increased by about 2% from 752 million to 765 million acres between 2007 and 2017.² Net volume of growing stock increased by more than 5% over the same period.² Canada’s forest area of 857 million acres has been quite stable over the past 25 years.³
Each year, forests in North America grow significantly more wood than is harvested. In the U.S., average net annual increase in growing-stock trees on timberland is about 25 billion cubic feet.² In 2017, Canada harvested just over 5.5 billion ft³ of timber, well below the estimated sustainable wood supply level of 7.8 billion ft³.³
Tree cutting and removal in the U.S. occurs on less than 2% of forest land per year in contrast to the nearly 3% disturbed annually by natural events like insects, disease, and fire.² Harvesting occurs on 0.2% of Canada’s forest lands each year while 4.5% is disturbed by insects and 0.7% by fire.³
Sustainable forest practices, forest certification and government regulations require mandatory regeneration so that harvested areas continue to produce forests for the long term.³
More than half the forest land in the U.S is owned and managed by about 11 million private forest owners. Private forest lands provided 89% of the domestically produced wood and paper products in 2017.² The income landowners receive for trees grown on their land encourages them to maintain, sustainably manage and renew this valuable resource.

References:

Dovetail Partners, 2016
Oswalt et al., 2019
Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN), 2020

7 Hottest Print Design Trends

September 9, 2021

By Sabine Lenz, PaperSpecs

Each year, a handful of printing and finishing techniques set the industry on fire, transforming the way designers create their work, spread their message and even the way they think. If you’re looking for a way to help your clients jumpstart their creativity while giving you a competitive edge, you really can’t afford to dismiss them.

1. Sustainability

In 2020, when many of us got to spend more time outdoors, enjoying the clean air, positive environmental change started to feel a little more doable. Increasingly, consumers are becoming more mindful of how they can help achieve this.

For any print project, this means:

Reduce. The most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place.

Right-size. This is not only important to the final cost of the product, but also to its perceived environmental impact.

Print on demand. Ask yourself “What is the quantity my customer needs right now,” and “What is the longevity of the piece?” Thanks to digital printing and finishing, there really is no need to overproduce.

Reduce overall waste. Here is your chance to help creatives understand how to best utilize a press sheet. They’re eager to be more sustainable and open to your advice.

Reuse. Help your customers explore ways in which they might be able to repurpose their packaging and materials – and yes, this includes die-lines and other tools.

Recycle. From recycled papers to substrates made with agri-waste (hemp, wheat) and recycled jeans, T-shirts and even coffee cups, there is no shortage of innovative new materials. Be the one to bring these exciting options to your clients; they will appreciate your forward, sustainable thinking.

2. Gold Metallic Designs

Metallic effects in design are becoming uber-trendy. Already ubiquitous in product design, gold especially is popular. From packaging to business cards, gold gives any printed item a luxurious, expensive feel.

Granted, the shimmer that foil brings has been on trend for a while now, but beyond foil stamping, several newer technologies have become more widely available, offering creatives new possibilities and creating a resurgence of shimmer and gold.

From hot and cold foil to foil substrates and digital foiling options, there is a foil – or better said, gold foil – option for every print run and budget.

3. Swiss Binding

In the last few years, exposed (or naked) spines – books and booklets that proudly show off the thread that holds them together – have increased in popularity. Using contrasting or complementing thread colors, designers are reveling in these new-found binding embellishments.

Traditionally once trends reach their peak, they either fade out or someone adds a new twist. And today’s new twist is Swiss binding.

Instead of being inserted and mounted in casebound fashion, in Swiss binding the text block is glued right on top of the inside back cover of the book’s case. While from the outside the book looks like a nice casebound book, once the cover is opened, the text block’s spine is revealed. In most cases the text block is Smyth bound, yet feel free to use perfect bound or saddlestitched text blocks, too.

4. Bright Colors

While bold colors have been trending in the online world for a while now, thanks to enhanced print technology, we can go bold, loud and brighter than ever before in print.

All this is thanks to neon inks used with traditional printing techniques – offset, letterpress and silk screen – but also in digital printing. This includes neon yellow, pink, orange, violet and green.

Encourage your customers to crank up their design’s “look at me” factor by using vibrant neon colors as spot colors.

You also can use them to extend the overall color gamut. When we are talking 5+ color printing, we are adding more colors to a conventional 4-color process setup.

This is popular for two reasons:

To increase the overall range of colors, creating really rich hues
The extra colors can be used to reproduce a special hue that is out of range of the standard CMYK mix, meaning you can match about 99% of Pantone colors on a digital press.

5. Haptic

In this over-digitalized world, people yearn for a tactile experience. Tactile effects on marketing materials – but especially packaging – have been becoming increasingly popular.

There are two ways to enhance a project’s haptic appeal:

Substrate. From classic linen and felt textures to more daring ones like wood grain, using a textured substrate is probably the easiest way to bring a tactile aspect to any printed piece.
Finishing. From traditional embossing to profile-raising spot UV (using either screen UV coatings or newer digital finishing), there is no shortage of ways for you to help your customers add that extra tactile feel. Soft-touch laminates and coatings continue to be very popular, while other specialty coatings, including sandpaper and leather textures, provide intriguing options as well. New digital options for applying spot UV coatings have opened up many opportunities for adding texture to packaging, direct mail and other printed materials.

6. Customization and Personalization

A recent McKinsey study found that personalization will be the prime driver of marketing success within five years.

Nobody wants to be bothered by irrelevant coupons, emails or texts, but they do want to be informed of offers that meet their needs.

Personalization offers meaningful, relevant customer communication. While the technology for this (e.g., variable data printing) has been around for a while, few brands are fully embracing it. Successful brands need to focus on good customer data, insightful analytics and, above all, ensuring that they protect customer privacy.

Customization. Thanks to processing code (a scripting language that can create graphic elements) or tools like SmartStream, the ability to create unique covers, packaging and bottle designs is at our fingertips. Best of all, your clients don’t have to be a global powerhouse to benefit from these trends.

7. Augmented Reality (AR)

As you know, AR enhances the user’s perception of the real world by adding a computer-simulated layer of information on top of it. In print, one of the most used interactions is when the activation is triggered by scanning a specific item, or “marker.”

But trying to convince customers to download an app can be tricky, let alone providing an app that’s compatible with all the different types of phone and operating systems out there.

That’s why marketers have started looking seriously into WebAR. It may not have the power of full AR but it still has plenty of potential.

WebAR refers to augmented reality experiences that are accessed through a web browser rather than an app. This means all you need is your smartphone or tablet and an internet connection – no apps required.

With the introduction of ARKit and ARCore (the Apple and Google AR developer platforms) and web-based AR platforms such as 8^th Wall, marketers now have a big opportunity to create innovative campaigns that integrate the digital and physical worlds.

Whether it’s through augmenting product packaging with interactive content, virtual tours in brick-and-mortar shops or “try before you buy” at home opportunities (Starbucks or IKEA are two obvious examples), augmented reality is enriching the customer experience digitally in a way that few technologies can.

These are the seven top print design trends, but are they all for you or your clients? Probably not. But mix and match two or more of these trends and you will delight your customers with the opportunities you can provide.

PaperSpecs.com is an innovative online hub for brand owners and graphic designers who actively spec paper and print, and refuse to be limited by short print runs or tight budgets.

Through videos, hands-on/virtual “Live [unboxed]” events, blog posts and more, PaperSpecs provides trends, insights and access to crucial, hands-on tools and resources to help creatives craft printed pieces that WOW their clients. Don’t miss the weekly tips, trends and insights: www.paperspecs.com/get-weekly-tips/

What Consumers Don’t Know About the Sustainability of Paper Products

June 11, 2021

Reprinted with permission from Two Sides North America

As US consumers become increasingly aware of the environmental impacts of the products they use every day, there remains a wide gap between perception and reality when it comes to the sustainability of paper products. This is according to a new survey commissioned by Two Sides North America and conducted by global research firm Toluna. The survey, “Paper’s Place in a Post-Pandemic World,” sought to explore and better understand consumer perceptions, behaviors and preferences related to the sustainability of paper products.

“More and more consumers are factoring environmental impacts into their purchasing decisions, but all too often those decisions are based on pop culture myths and sensational, headline-driven journalism rather than fact,” says Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie. “As attention turns to developing a more sustainable, circular economy, the paper and paper-based packaging industry has a great, fact-based environmental story to tell: Paper is one the few products that already can claim to have a truly circular life cycle.”

What’s happening to the size of the US forest area?

Paper use often is blamed for forest loss, and 60% of those surveyed believe US forests are shrinking. The fact: US forest area grew by 18 million acres between 1990 and 2020, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment. That’s an area equivalent to 1,200 NFL football fields every day. Contrary to the popular belief that manufacturing and using paper destroys forests, the demand for sustainably sourced paper and paper-based packaging creates a powerful financial incentive for landowners to not only manage and harvest their land responsibly, but also to keep it forested rather than converting it to non-forest uses, one of the real documented causes of forest loss.

What percentage of paper is recycled?

Paper recycling in the United States is a hands down environmental success story. But according to the survey, only 11% of consumers believe the US recycling rate exceeds 60% and nearly a quarter believe it is less than 20%. The fact: More than two-thirds of all paper and paper-based packaging in the US is recycled, and more than 90% of corrugated cardboard boxes are recycled, according to the American Forest and Paper Association. In addition, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that paper is the most recycled material in the country, compared to plastics at 8.4%, glass at 26.6% and metals at 33.3%.

Is electronic communication more environmentally friendly than paper-based communication?

As the pandemic forced meetings, events and day-to-day business to online communication and consumers increasingly relied on the internet for news and information, 67% of those surveyed believe that electronic communication is more environmentally friendly than paper-based communication. While consumers enjoy the convenience and the ability to work from home that electronic communication affords, they overlook the environmental impact of digital communication.

The facts: The EPA reports that the pulp and paper industry accounts for only 1.2% of US industrial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and only 0.5% of total US GHG emissions – which shouldn’t be surprising since two-thirds of the energy used to power US paper industry operations is generated using renewable, carbon-neutral biomass. In contrast, the energy consumption required for digital technologies is increasing 9% each year, and the share of digital technology in global greenhouse gas (GHG) missions could rise to 8% by 2025 according to The Shift Project, a carbon transition think tank. And compared to paper’s recycling success story, the United States generates approximately seven million metric tons of e-waste annually, but only 15% of that waste is recycled, according to the 2020 Global E-waste Monitor.

“The life cycle of paper products is circular by nature,” Rowzie explains. “The raw material used to make it is perpetually regrown, the energy used to manufacture it is generated using mostly carbon-neutral biofuel and the circle is completed as used paper is recycled into new products at a higher rate than any other material. Even so, our survey shows that misconceptions about the sustainability of paper products are commonplace. It is just these types of misconceptions that Two Sides was created to correct. We believe consumers have the right to make purchasing choices based on data and hard facts, free from pop mythology and misinformation.”

Two Side North America is an independent, non-profit organization that promotes the sustainability of print, paper and paper-based packaging, and dispels common environmental misconceptions about paper products. It is part of the Two Sides global network which operates across North America, South America, Europe, Australia and South Africa. For more information, visit www.twosidesna.org.

Sustainability Meets Print Decorating

June 11, 2021

By Liz Stevens, writer, PostPress

Sustainability. Recycling. The circular economy. Everywhere one turns, there is another reminder that resources are finite, that waste and pollution are engulfing the planet and that everyone can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

For print finishing companies, recycling of industrial paper scrap is old hat, along with recycling inks and managing wastewater. But what about non-recyclable scrap, such as films and materials that are coated, treated or laminated? What should be done with these in a circular economy? There is good news: Much of these types of waste can be converted into fuel by producing energy in waste-to-energy operations. Specialized collectors accept tons of non-recyclable industrial pre-consumer waste, moving it to processors that make feedstocks (fuel) for energy producers. The processor sells the fuel to utilities that produce steam or electricity.

To help print finishers explore an option for diverting their own non-recyclable scrap away from the landfill and into a waste-to-energy stream, FSEA has partnered with Channeled Resources Group. This Chicago-based company, founded in the 1970s, has acted as a facilitator for 13 years to Convergen Energy, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Convergen uses non-recyclable byproduct to make fuel for energy. The chairman of Channeled Resources, Calvin Frost, recently discussed sustainability and non-recyclables-to-energy as it applies to films and coated, treated or laminated paper or film.

“Convergen Energy has an excellent cost-neutral, sustainable solution that any converter or supplier can look at,” said Frost. He noted the benefits of sending industrial waste to facilities like Convergen: It is a cost-effective alternative to sending the same materials to a landfill; there is satisfaction in knowing that materials have been properly disposed of and returned to a value stream; it allows one to play a part in reducing overload and methane in landfills; and, it makes a contribution to sustainable energy generation – a slate of benefits that may be in line with a company’s corporate and environmental philosophy. “We now are processing 7,000 tons a month of these non-recyclable substrates, working with a variety of companies that want to be more sustainable,” Frost said.

Convergen is consuming more than 30 non-recyclable materials. Almost all pre-consumer paper and plastic products are acceptable. Of particular relevance are film, metalized PET, poly-laminates and flexible packaging byproducts. Some materials cannot be accepted, such as aluminum, organic material, hazardous materials, liquids, metals and anything containing chlorine, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). To ensure a print finisher’s load of materials is acceptable, companies must send in a small sample of materials for review – a pound or less of representative materials and substrates.

Frost and Channeled Resources work with companies like Kurz and IPW. Also, “We currently have a small volume coming in from FSEA members,” said Frost, “but we have the ability to take more, if we can find the right partners.” Frost noted that his company recently has worked with Lake Forest, Illinois-based Culbert Packaging, which has just started a metalized line. “The company wants to be sustainable,” said Frost. “It doesn’t want to landfill, so it is shipping 5,000 pounds every six weeks up to Convergen Energy. Culbert is working with the same kind of substrates that FSEA members use, and the company is shipping less than truckload quantities.”

Truckload quantities are the bulk of what typically is shipped for processing to Convergen in Green Bay. “Most of our material is coming in full 20-ton loads,” Frost explained, “and the trailers are dropped off. For a load of less than 20 tons, companies need to make an appointment so the truck can be scheduled for unloading. Otherwise, the full trailers are dropped, and Convergen will unload 24/7 as it processes the trailers.”

“In Green Bay, the material is processed and then compressed and extruded into fuel pellets,” said Frost. Convergen sells the fuel pellets to power generation facilities. The company also uses the pellets to fuel its own 20-megawatt boiler-based power plant in L’Anse, Michigan, which then supplies electricity derived from renewable energy to DTE, a Detroit-based energy company. “If you really want to be sustainable,” Frost said, “if companies really want to close their loop and create a circular economy, they can send non-recyclables to be processed into fuel. The fuel then goes to a utility, where the energy generated in the boiler is sold to the grid. Then companies can buy the energy back again.” To Frost, this is a great example of the circular economy. “What this does is close the loop. It is possible for printers to participate in a program that will make them more sustainable,” he said.

The cost-benefit of this kind of sustainability is fairly easy to calculate, but it varies based on the shipping fees for waste transport and the regional costs for landfill use. Frost cited an example using a 20-ton measurement, a standard truckload, and the landfill costs in Southern California. “I know a lot of printers and finishers don’t have 20 tons, but we look at costs in 20-ton increments,” he said. “In San Diego, the cost to landfill and transport waste to the landfill is $248 per ton. The total cost for that, based on 20 tons, is $4,960. If printers send the material to Convergen, we charge a $30 per ton tip fee (unloading fee) plus they pay for the freight. With their freight cost at $3,600 and the tip fee, the total cost is $4,400. At $4,960 for the landfill option vs. $4,400 for Convergen, printers are saving $560.” Based on Frost’s experience, “by switching from a regional landfill, looking at all costs, printers are pretty much cost neutral or can save some money.”

The recommended minimum volume for a shipment of non-recyclable waste is 2.5 tons, but this kind of volume may be far more than print finishers are generating. “I honestly think it doesn’t make good economic sense unless printers have a minimum of 5,000 lbs – 2.5 tons,” said Frost. “We do have some small suppliers in the Midwest, and they really don’t want to landfill. They have made commitments; they want to be sustainable, and so they are shipping us 2,500 lbs.” Frost acknowledges that smaller shipments will incur a relatively higher freight cost. He said that dealing with anything less than 2,500 lbs is not practical for either the print finisher or for Convergen. But Frost is a man who likes to be resourceful and make things happen. “We have proposed to an FSEA member in Indianapolis where Channeled Resources has a plant that they ship their materials to us, and we will consolidate it with other non-recyclables going to Green Bay.” Channeled Resources has two plants in the US, one in Indianapolis and one in Wisconsin. “We certainly can utilize those, if necessary, to try and make these things work,” he said. “Otherwise, companies can make an appointment and ship LTL to Convergen in Green Bay.”

FSEA members who would like to explore the idea of
diverting their non-recyclables from the landfill are encouraged to contact Channeled Resources for detailed information about the materials that are acceptable and unacceptable for the program, the logistics of shipping, and information on regional landfill fees and typical shipping costs. “We will try and help with information on packaging and information on cost for the material,” he said. “To qualify acceptance of the material, we have to send a small sample up to Convergen.” Once a company contracts with Convergen Energy, Channeled Resources steps back. “Our role is really to be a facilitator,” said Frost. “We go out and develop sources of feedstocks for Convergen. Once we have the process set up, we connect companies directly with the people at Convergen, and we move on. We don’t need to be involved unless a problem develops. Our role is to develop these feedstock sources.”

Frost is active in Europe and has seen the European Union pass legislation regulating packaging waste. “What happens in Europe eventually comes over here because we are working with global companies,” he said. Frost sees a circular economy as inevitable. “We have to change what we are doing. We cannot continue to take non-recyclables to the landfill. It doesn’t work. I would rather be ahead of the curve than behind. I think the time to get on the train is now – do not wait until companies are forced to do it.”

This article is based on the September 18, 2020, FSEA webinar, “Sustainability Meets Print Decorating,” which is part of FSEA’s Online Learning Experience, available
at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lygpk6o9mN4 or at
www.fsea.com.

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