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Green Initiative
Bookbuilders West Green Committee:
The mission of the Green Committee is to provide information and resources about environmental issues to Bookbuilders West members as part of its commitment to a green initiative. The committee will keep this link up-to-date with organizations, resources, upcoming events, and useful articles.
For more information about the committee's work, contact Mira Martin-Parker at Mira_Martin-Parker@mcgraw-hill.com.
Organizations and Resources:
Book Industry Environmental Council
The BIEC is working towards the following goals:
- Establishing criteria and standards for on-product labeling.
- Developing standardized mechanisms for tracking environmental metrics.
- Making recommendations for reducing the industry's impacts on climate change.
Participation is open to all segments of the book industry. Interested companies should send an email to Erin Johnson at erin@greenpressinitiative.org.
Founding members include:
The Book Industry Study Group, Borders, Cascades, Chelsea Green, Chronicle Books, Continuum, Domtar, Lantern Books, Maple-Vail, Melcher Media, New Leaf Paper, Pinnacle Press, Random House, RR Donnelley, Scholastic, and Thomson-Shore.
Conservatree
A nonprofit catalyst and advocate for ecologically sustainable paper markets, combining environmental commitment with paper industry and technical savvy. They provide practical tools and realistic strategies for successful conversion to environmentally sound papers, including:
- Information for paper buyers and specifiers on environmental papers that meet their needs
- Answers to concerns and myths that create resistance to environmental papers
- Strategies for source reduction, to reduce paper use as well as costs
- Tactics for addressing cost premiums, when they exist
- One-on-one assistance in implementing a shift from policy to solid change
- Collaboration with advocacy campaigns to provide the expertise required to ensure that policy commitments turn into actual conversion to environmental papers
- Education and recommendations for policymakers and legislators
- Research into environmental paper industry issues
http://www.conservatree.org/paper/PaperMasterList.shtml
Credible Forest Certification
For information about the difference between FSI and FSC certification. This site brought to you by the Alliance for Credible Forest Certification. The Alliance is comprised of non-profit conservation organizations and others dedicated to credible certification and other market-based solutions for protecting and restoring forest ecosystems, including American Lands Alliance, Dogwood Alliance, ForestEthics, Greenpeace, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Council Maine, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club. These organizations are solely responsible for the site's content. Special thanks to the Rainforest Action Network for helping to maintain this site.
Contact: info@dontbuysfi.com
http://credibleforestcertification.org/home/
Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!
Eco-Libris is a green business that works with book readers, publishers, writers, bookstores, and others in the book industry to balance out the paper used for books by planting trees. About 20 million trees are cut down annually for virgin paper to be used for the production of books sold in the U.S. alone. Eco-Libris raises awareness to the environmental impacts of using paper for the production of books and provides book lovers with a simple way to do something about it: plant a tree for every book they read.
Visit Eco-Libris website at http://www.ecolibris.net
Environmental Defense Fund
Founded in 1967, the Environmental Defense Fund tackles the most serious environmental problems with:
- Strong science
- Innovative markets
- Corporate partnerships
- Effective laws and policy
http://www.edf.org/home.cfm
Environmental Defense Fund Paper Calculator
http://www.edf.org/papercalculator/
Environmental Paper Network
Environmental Paper Network website offers a resource for purchasers, environmental organizations, industry, and individuals. The Environmental Paper Network is a diverse group of environmental organizations joined together to support socially and environmentally sustainable transformations within the pulp and paper industry. The Network developed the Common Vision as a framework to guide necessary shifts in production and consumption.
Leadership for the Environmental Paper Network is provided by a steering committee that works to advance the Common Vision for Transforming the Pulp and Paper Industry through:
- Identifying priorities for action
- Facilitating communication and collaboration among interested groups
- Creating a platform for dialogue and increased awareness with industry, other stakeholders, and the public
- Furthering research, analysis, momentum, and innovation
http://www.environmentalpaper.org/
Forest Stewardship Council
The FSC is an international not-for-profit membership-based organization that brings people together to find solutions to the problems created by bad forestry practices and to reward good forest management.
http://www.fsc.org/en/
Greenpeace Book Campaign
The Greenpeace Book Campaign aims to 'green' the book publishing industry, who are currently printing the majority of their books on virgin (non-recycled) paper linked to ancient forest destruction in countries such as Finland and Canada. Book publishers are also printing children's and colour books in South East Asia, which could be linked to rainforest destruction in Indonesia.
This campaign has already been very successful in Canada where Markets Initiative (a coalition project of Greenpeace Canada and other environmental groups) has worked with book publishers since 2000. Over 72 leading Canadian publishers, including Random House Canada and Penguin Canada have made formal commitments to use only 'Ancient Forest Friendly' book papers.
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/forests/greenpeace-book-campaign
Green Press Initiative
The goal of the Green Press Initiative is to help those in the book and newspaper industries better understand their impacts on endangered forests, indigenous communities, and the Earth's climate. GPI also works with those in the industry to implement solutions and to provide the tools and resources necessary to support industry transformation.http://www.greenpressinitiative.org/index.htm
Book Industry Treatise on Responsible Paper Use
http://www.greenpressinitiative.org/documents/IndustryTreatisePaper.pdf
Toolkit on Responsible Paper Use for Book Publisher
http://www.greenpressinitiative.org/documents/BookPublisherToolkit.pdf
Recommended guidelines for paper use
http://www.greenpressinitiative.org/documents/GuidelinesRespsonsiblePaper.doc
Sample policy template
http://www.greenpressinitiative.org/documents/BookPublisherPolicyTemplate.doc
Listening Study
This website represents an ongoing discussion, with reports frequently updated, divided into the following categories:
- Market Factors - Paper industry data, distribution, pricing issues, environmental purchasing campaigns, performance requirements
- Recycled Content Issues - Recycled content issues, recovered fiber collection, deinking, impact on forests, packaging, performance
- Chlorine Free Paper Issues - Types of bleaching systems and comparisons, environmental and health issues, terminology, performance
- Tree Free Paper Issues - Comparison of alternative fibers with environmental impacts, agricultural residues and on-purpose crops, pulping, application to papermaking, price issues, recyclability
- Sustainable Forest Issues - Sustainable forestry, old growth, use in papermaking, benefits of tree fibers, general and regional impacts of forestry, genetic engineering, labeling and certification, plantations
- Interaction Between Issues - Optimal content standards, precedence of environmental attributes, recyclability, evaluation, certification, labeling, environmental production processes, investment impacts on decision-making
- Conclusions, Next Steps, Recommendations - When do we know enough to act, globalization, financial risks and investments, needed actions
- Bibliography - Listing of all reports, publications, films, and videos referenced in the Listening Study
We welcome comments, feedback, arguments, observations, studies, tests, and other information from all concerned with these issues. Please Join the Discussion!
http://www.conservatree.org/paperlisteningstudy/index.html
Metafore
Metafore is a source of tools, information, and innovative thinking for businesspeople focused on evaluating, selecting, and manufacturing environmentally preferable wood and paper products. http://www.metafore.org/
Metafore’s Forrest Certification Resource Center
http://www.metafore.org/index.php?p=Forest_Certification_Resource_Center&s=147
Metafore’s Environmental Paper Assessment Tool®
https://www.epat.org/EPATHome.aspx?request=119
Other Useful Information:
For guidelines on disclosing recycled content:
Visit the American Forest & Paper Association website
http://www.afandpa.org
AAP Handbook on Book Paper and The Environment
Executive Summary
http://www.publishers.org/main/Conferences/documents/EXECSUMMARYFINAL_000.pdf
Handbook on Book Paper and The Environment
http://www.publishers.org/main/Conferences/documents/PAPERPAPERFINAL_000.pdf
Related Events:
TAPPI Engineering, Pulping, Environmental Conference
August 24-27, 2008
Portland, OR
This is a forum for paper industry professionals to acquire practical operating insights and to network with industry peers in technical sessions, tutorials, roundtables, new technology sessions and workshops.
http://www.tappi.org/s_tappi/doc_events.asp?CID=11016&DID=556766
North American Forest Products Conference
September 14-16, 2008
Boston, MA
This information-filled conference includes global issues facing the industry in North America along with RISI economists' two-year outlooks for macroeconomics, timber, wood products, pulp, recovered paper, packaging, graphic paper, tissue, newsprint and pulp.
http://www.risiinfo.com/events
Corporate Climate Response Conference
September 22-23, 2008
Chicago, IL
Join leading companies at this conference to find out how they’re responding to climate change and adapting for a low-carbon future.
Topics will include:
- Beyond Carbon Footprinting: Water and Environmental Management
- Six Steps to Avoiding Greenwashing
- Taking the Mystery out of Carbon and Eco-Labeling
- Curbing Emissions from China’s Factories
http://www.greenpowerconferences.com/corporateclimateresponse/CCRChicago_08.html
Going Green in Publishing
Webinar
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 - 2:00pm
Environmental issues have become a hot topic in social, economic and political arenas and many publishers have answered the challenge by incorporating environmentally friendly materials into the production process. Over 100 magazines now publish on ‘green’ paper. With a top-down exploration of the entire supply chain, this Folio: Webinar will break through the myths and misconceptions by examining the economic and brand realities of truly committing to a green publishing operation: Recycled paper selection and quality, inks, cost implications, brand impact and benefits, printer communication, and more.
http://www.foliomag.com/webinars/6439
Articles
Green publishing: turning over a new leaf
By Amy Goetzman, MinnPost.com, July 14, 2008
http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/07/14/2512/ green_publishing_turning_over_a_new_leaf
'Green' easy for companies to tout but hard to guarantee
By Carolyn Shapiro, The Virginian-Pilot, July 27, 2008
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/07/green-easy-companies-tout-hard-guarantee
Turning Over a New Leaf at BookExpo
By Hardy Green, businessweek.com, June 1, 2008
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2008/db2008061_807574.htm
What is a “Green” Publisher?
By Walt Shiel, wordpress.com, May 6, 2008
http://publishingtrenches.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/what-is-a-green-publisher/
Eco-Libris: How Green is the Book Publishing Industry? (Part 2)
By Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, Sustainablog, April 15, 2008
http://sustainablog.org/2008/04/15/eco-libris-how-green-is-the-book-publishing-industry-part-2/
A ‘Green’ Celebration, By Noelle Skodzinski, Book Business Magazine, April 16, 2008
http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/story/story.bsp?sid=95902&var=story&publication=
Book%20Business&publicationDate=4/16/08&slug=BB_0408_News.3&category=None§ion=
Unknown&swd=Green%20Press%20Initiative
Winners of SustainPrint Leadership Awards Announced Book Business Magazine, March 14, 2008
http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/story/story.bsp?sid=93434&var=story
Toward a Greener Future: New industry study puts carbon footprint at 12.4 million tons and outlines measures to reduce publishing's environmental impact,
By Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly, March 10, 2008
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6539660.html
The ‘Green’ TEAM
By James Sturdivant, Book Business Magazine, February 01, 2008
http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/story/story.bsp?sid=90064&var=story&publication=
Book%20Business&publicationDate=2/1/08&slug=BB_0208_enviro_coverstory&category=
Book%20Publishing§ion=Unknown&swd=the%20green%20team
An Eco-Friendly Resource: Pinnacle Press’ new director of publishing is set to promote environmental initiatives
By Peter Beisser, Book Business Magazine, January 4, 2008
http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/story/story.bsp?sid=85186&var=story&publication=
Book%20Business&publicationDate=1/4/08&slug=4BBEXTRA_010408&category=
None§ion=Unknown&swd=eco-friendly%20ideas
Glossary
From the Association of American Publishers Handbook on Book Paper and the Environment, February 2008
A
Absorbable Organic Halides (AOX): A standard measurement quantifying the amount of chlorinated organic material that is discharged from a mill.
Acid Rain: The precipitation of dilute solutions of strong mineral acids, formed by the mixing in the atmosphere of various industrial pollutants (primarily sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) with naturally occurring oxygen and water vapor.
Acid Free: Made in a neutral pH process that increases the longevity of the paper.
Acre: Measurement of land; English unit of land. An acre is 4,840 square yards or about 75% of a U.S. football field.
Agricultural Fibers: Fibers harvested from nonwood plants grown intentionally for treefree paper or other fiber products.
Agricultural Residue: A harvested-crop residue that can be used to manufacture treefree paper.
Ancient Timber Old Growth Fiber Free: Products in which no content is from old growth forests.
ATFS: American Tree Farm Systems, a forest certification system designed for the small, nonindustrial landowners who own most of the working forest areas in the United States.
B
Basis Weight: Traditional paper basis weights common to each grade of paper are based on measurements determined hundreds of years ago by Middle Eastern papermakers. They represent the finished weight of a ream of paper in a size specific to the grade of paper. (These sizes are usually "parent sheet" sizes, not cut size reams.) Therefore, weights are not always the same between grades. For example, a 20# writing/script paper is not less than half the weight of a 50# text paper but, rather, similar to it. A 24# writing paper is generally equivalent to a 60# text, while a 28# writing paper is generally equivalent to a 70# text paper. That is because the size of paper being weighed by the ream is different for text than for writing papers.
Bast Fiber: Strong, woody fiber, usually forming the food-conducting tissue of a plant.
Biodegradable: Waste material composed primarily of constituent parts that occur naturally, are able to be decomposed by bacteria or fungi, and are absorbed into the ecosystem. Wood, for example, is biodegradable, while plastics are not. Biodiversity: A large number and wide range of species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. Ecologically, wide biodiversity is conducive to the development of all species.
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD): A measure of the amount of oxygen consumed in the biological processes that break down organic matter in water. BOD is used as an indirect measure of the concentration of biologically degradable material present in organic wastes. It usually reflects the amount of oxygen consumed in five days by biological processes breaking down organic waste. BOD can also be used as an indicator of pollutant level, where the greater the BOD, the greater the degree of pollution. Also referred to as "biochemical oxygen demand."
Biomass: In the energy production industry, biomass refers to living and recently living biological material, which can be used as fuel or for industrial production. Most commonly, biomass refers to plant matter grown for use as biofuel, but also includes plant or animal matter used for production of fibers, chemicals, or heat. Biomass may also include biodegradable wastes that can be burned as fuel.
Blade Coating: A process in which paper is given a clay coating that is spread by a blade that covers the width while the paper runs underneath it, rather than the paper running through a bath of clay coating.
Boreal Forests: Forests found in the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia, consisting mostly of coniferous trees.
Brightness: A technical measurement of the light reflected back from the paper, with 100 being the highest brightness. High-bright papers also usually look the whitest, although visual comparisons between papers of different brightness are often difficult unless they are side by side. Even then, close brightness between papers is often difficult to distinguish. Also called “whiteness.”
Broadleaf Trees: Trees with wide, flat leaves that are shed annually. Examples include oak, ash, and maple.
Butt Rolls: The excess ends of rolls of various grades of paper.
C
Calender: A series of rollers that squeeze the finished paper, creating a harder, firmer surface that often looks somewhat shiny.
Carbon Footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gases produced (measured in amounts of carbon dioxide) by a particular human activity.
Carbon Sink: Matter that absorbs and stores more carbon than it emits. Common examples include oceans, soil, and growing forests.
Chain of Custody: The process of documenting the source for fiber used in a specific manufacturing run paper all the way back to the forest or forests where the trees were harvested.
Chlorine-free Product (CFP): Any product produced without the use of chlorine chemistries, including elemental chlorine gas, chlorine compounds, and chlorine derivatives. See also Elemental Chlorine Free, Totally Chlorine Free, and Processed Chlorine Free.
CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) provides lists of endangered species of timber and other natural products.
Clearcutting: A method of harvesting trees in which an entire stand is felled and removed at one time. Clearcutting may be done in blocks, strips, and patches with intact buffer areas left between the harvested areas. See fuller discussion of this in the Forestry section.
Coated Paper: Paper with a clay coating, which provides a better printing surface for crisper, more brilliant colors.
Controlled Wood: A term used by FSC to refer to the non-FSC-certified portion of fiber in an FSC mixed-label product.
Commodity Paper: High-volume paper, usually white, that forms a large percentage of paper sales, including offset and copy paper. High-volume production compensates for commodity grades’ slimmer profit margins.
Converter: A company that buys raw, finished paper rolls to make into value-added products such as envelopes, continuous forms, and cut-size sheets.
CSA: Canadian Standards Association is a not-for-profit group that has developed standards for many different industries. CSA’s sustainable forest management standard was developed with the participation of government, academic, environmental, business, and other stakeholder groups. It is particularly suited to Canada, where much of the wood used by the forest-products industry comes from government-owned lands and where forest-products companies have been granted management and harvesting licenses.
D
Deforestation: The destruction of forests through the widespread removal of trees without adequate replanting or a plan for regeneration.
De-inking: The process by which ink is lifted off used paper, which is then broken back down into fibers to be recycled into new paper.
Dioxin: A toxic chemical that either occurs naturally or as an unwanted by-product of industrial manufacturing, including papermaking. Exposure to dioxin has been linked to cancer. New bleaching methods eliminate dioxin by-products in pulp and papermaking.
Dirt Count: The average amount of dirt specks in a specific size of paper area. Both virgin sheets and recycled sheets have "dirt," although recycled paper usually has a slightly higher dirt count than virgin paper. However, it rarely affects recycled paper’s quality and use.
E
Ecology: A branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their environment.
Ecosystem: An interconnected and symbiotic grouping of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms that sustains life through biological, geological, and chemical activity.
Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF): Virgin paper processed without elemental chlorine but with a chlorine derivative such as chlorine dioxide. A postconsumer paper would be a greener choice than an ECF paper.
Emission Factor: Quantity of a substance or substances released from a given area or mass of a material at a set point in time—i.e., milligrams per square meter per hour.
Emissions: The release of gases, liquids, and/or solids from any process or industry. Liquid emissions are commonly referred to as effluents.
Environmental Footprint: For an industrial setting, this is a company’s environmental impact determined by the amount of depletable raw materials and nonrenewable resources it consumes to make its products, and the quantity of wastes and emissions that are generated in the process. Traditionally, for a company to grow, the footprint had to get larger. Today, finding ways to reduce the environmental footprint is a priority for leading companies.
Environmental Impact: Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from human activity, industry, or natural disasters. Environmental Restoration: The act of repairing damage to a site caused by human activity, industry, or natural disasters. The ideal environmental restoration, although rarely achieved, is to restore the site as closely as possible to its natural condition before it was disturbed.
EPA: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes guidelines for minimum recycled product content for use by federal agencies for purchasing standards. Most U.S. state and local governments, as well as businesses and organizations, have also voluntarily adopted these content standards. Further, EPA advocates source reduction practices, and other aspects of environmentally sound products, such as reduced toxics, energy savings, and biomass projects. In addition to providing guidance on environmental products, EPA regulates many aspects of paper industry production, including emissions (air, water, land) and solid waste management.
F
Finish: The physical "look and feel" of the paper’s surface. May include raised designs such as "linen" and "laid," or a smooth surface.
Forest: A diverse ecosystem dominated by trees, but also including other plants as well as animals that contribute to the world at large.
Forms Bond: Paper converted into continuous forms.
Freesheet: Groundwood-free, freesheet paper is made from a chemical pulping process in which all the lignin is removed from the pulp. Freesheet paper has more longevity than groundwood paper such as newsprint, which contains lignin and may yellow rapidly. The chemical pulping process (usually a kraft process) requires less energy than groundwood pulping, but uses a lower portion of the tree so that more trees are used to produce a ton of pulp than with groundwood paper.
FSC: Forest Stewardship Council is an independent, international, environmentally and socially oriented forestry certification organization. It trains, accredits, and monitors thirdparty certifiers around the world and works to establish international forest management standards. FSC considers itself as having established credibility with the major environmental and social organizations worldwide.
FTC: U.S. Federal Trade Commission publishes guidance to help companies clarify which kinds of product-labeling language would be regarded as appropriate and which misleading, with potential for FTC investigation.
G
Global Warming: A process that raises the air temperature in the lower atmosphere because of heat trapped by greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and ozone. It can occur as the result of natural influences, but the term is most often applied to the warming predicted to occur as a result of human activities (i.e., emissions of greenhouse gases).
Greenhouse Effect: The warming of earth’s surface and lower atmosphere as a result of carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere, which absorb and reradiate infrared radiation.
Greenhouse Gases: Gases that absorb sunlight and trap the heat in the atmosphere. The buildup of greenhouse gases has led to concerns about global warming.
Greenwash: Disinformation disseminated by an organization intended to present an environmentally responsible public image.
Groundwood: Paper made from pulp that was produced using a partially or entirely mechanical process in which the entire tree is ground up. Heat and chemicals may be used in this process as well, but all groundwood pulp retains lignin. It thus yellows and deteriorates more rapidly than groundwood-free paper. Groundwood pulping processes use more energy than the totally chemical processes that produce freesheet, but groundwood pulping uses more of the tree; it therefore requires few trees per ton of paper produced.
H
Habitat: (1) The natural home of an animal or plant; (2) the sum of the environmental conditions that determine the existence of a community in a specific place.
Hardwoods: Trees that lose their leaves in autumn (see Broadleaf Trees).
Harvesting: Cutting down trees in a forest, but also managing the forest so that it will be replenished with new trees (either naturally or through replanting).
Hectare: 2.47 acres. There are 100 hectares in a square kilometer.
House Sheet: The standard paper kept on hand by a printer in each grade. Although the printer will usually be able to get most papers customers ask for, house sheets are the most easily available and, because they are bought continuously in large quantities, usually offer the best price.
I
Integrated Mills: Mills that manufacture pulp as well as paper.
J
K
Kraft Process: A chemical pulping process that cooks down the tree to remove lignins, retaining the fibers for papermaking. Freesheet papers are made in a kraft process.
L
Laid: Paper that, when held to the light, shows a series of ribbed lines. Has a highquality, handmade appearance and is often used for stationary.
Landspread: Landspreading is recovering waste by spreading onto land principally for agricultural benefit or ecological improvement. Sewage sludge and wastes from, for example, the food, brewing, and paper pulp industries, can be used for this purpose. (See: http://www.ami.ac.uk/courses/topics/0100_gls/dfxh0152.htm).
Lignin: The "glue" that binds the cells of the tree and creates its structure. Approximately one-third of the tree is lignin.
M
Making Order: A paper that is not available off a supplier’s shelf, but must be ordered from a mill. The mill and supplier will advertise the paper’s availability, but customers must buy enough to warrant production, usually a truckload or more.
Master Logger Programs (MLP): These programs, which exist in many U.S. states, promote safe and sustainable practices among the many independent logging companies that provide much of the wood to forest products companies in the United States. Requirements of these programs vary widely from state to state.
Mill Broke: Any paper waste generated in a paper mill before completion of the papermaking process (usually returned to the pulping process).
Mill Wrappers: Protective wrappers that mills often place on rolls of paper before shipment. They are torn off and discarded when the rolls are put on press. If there is no wrapper, there will almost always be some damage to the outer few layers of paper, which are then stripped off and discarded. Beyond protection against damage, some mill wrappers are also vapor barriers that keep the moisture content of the paper stable under the varying temperature and humidity conditions it is subjected to during transport and storage. This can be very important for assuring good press performance, especially on the heatset presses used for most books other than mass market paperbacks.
Monoculture: An area where a single species predominates. Monocultures are usually created through planting and are maintained for commercial purposes. Biodiverse nonplant species are limited in a monoculture and greater use of pesticides may be required to maintain the health of the selected species in the face of insect or disease invasions in the stands.
N
O
Old Growth Forest: A term that generally refers to forests that are relatively untouched by human activity.
Opacity: The amount of "show through" in a sheet, or how much of the text and design on one side of a paper shows through on the other side.
P
Pallet: A standard amount of paper that fits on a wooden pallet. In cut size sheets, a pallet equals forty cartons.
Parent Size: Sheets of paper larger than cut size. Parent size sheets are often 22" x 35" or 25" x 40".
PEFC: Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, a global organization that evaluates and endorses regional and national certification systems that meet its standard for sustainable forest management. PEFC endorsement is widely accepted as an indicator of good practices. SFI and CSA have been endorsed by PEFC.
Postconsumer Material: Paper that has reached its intended end user before being discarded. For example, paper recovered from curbside collections is considered postconsumer, but paper scraps from a print shop are not. The print shop is not the "intended end user," but is adding value to the paper that will eventually reach the end user.
Postconsumer Recycled Content: A product composition that contains some percentage of material that has been reclaimed from the same or another end use at the end of its former, useful life.
Postconsumer Waste Fiber (PCW): Same as postconsumer material. Note that papers containing a percentage of PCW are a “recycled” option.
Postindustrial Material: Industrial manufacturing scrap or waste; also called “preconsumer material.”
Postindustrial Recycled Content: Product composition that contains some percentage of manufacturing waste material that has been reclaimed from a process generating the same or a similar product. Also called “preconsumer recycle content.”
Preconsumer Fiber: Includes manufactured waste such as dry paper and paperboard from the cutting process.
Processed Chlorine Free (PCF): Recycled paper in which the recycled content is unbleached or bleached without chlorine or chlorine derivatives. Any virgin material portion of the paper must be TCF.
ppb: Parts per billion.
ppm: Parts per million.
Private Label: Paper made by a paper mill to be sold under a customer’s brand name rather than the mill’s. The paper may be the same as one sold under the mill brand name, or the private-label customer may require unique specifications for its paper. Examples include copy paper that carries the Xerox label, made at several different mills, and office papers that carry the Hewlett-Packard label. The private-label customer does not own or operate the paper mill, only contracts with it for paper marketed under the customer’s label.
Q
R
Reclamation: Restoration of materials found in the waste stream to a beneficial use that may be other than the original use.
Recovered: Scrap paper collected for remanufacturing into recycled paper. EPA’s definition for "recovered," which is most widely accepted, does not include scrap created in the initial papermaking process, but it does include scrap created in a mill after the paper comes off the paper machine.
Recycled: Paper made, at least in part, from recovered scrap paper. There is no universally accepted definition for “recycled,” and legal requirements vary. EPA requires postconsumer content in "recycled" papers bought by federal agencies, but FTC does not require postconsumer content in papers labeled "recycled." Most U.S. state and local governments and companies use EPA’s standards, but European producers do not isolate postconsumer content.
Recycling: Process by which materials that would otherwise become solid waste are collected, separated, or processed and returned to the economic mainstream to be reused in the form of raw materials or finished goods.
Renewable Resources: A resource that can be replenished at a rate equal to or greater than its rate of depletion—i.e., solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass resources.
Resource Conservation: Practices that protect, preserve, or renew natural resources in a manner that will ensure their highest economic or social benefits.
Reuse: Using a product or component of municipal solid waste in its original form more than once.
S
SFI: Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the predominant forest certification system in the United States. Nearly all mills with operations in the United States are SFI certified. SFI was originally created by the U.S. paper industry but is now independent and includes some participation of environmental and other nonindustrial groups. SFI’s sustainability standards are tailored to privately owned forests, whether owned by forest products companies or by private landowners. The SFI Standards now include an optional chain of custody certification that is required when using the SFI product label.
SFM: Abbreviation for the generic term sustainable forest management, which is generally construed to mean a set of forest management practices intended to preserve the long-term health and viability of forest ecosystems. Economic, social, and environmental sustainability are promoted by forest certification systems intended for working forests. Most forest certification systems claim to be SFM systems.
Single Stream Collecting: A program of collecting various types of recyclables in a single can or bin.
Sludge: The waste material left over after pulping and de-inking. Although some sludge is produced in the virgin papermaking process, far more is produced in the de-inking (recycling) process. Recycling breaks recovered paper down into fibers, which are sent to the paper machine for new production, and other materials, which drop into the sludge. These "other materials" include clay coatings, fillers from the previous paper, paper clips and staples, fibers too short to be made into paper, ink if it was not skimmed off in the de-inking process, and any "junk" that crept into the wastepaper bales.
Stocking Paper: A paper kept in current inventory by mills, distributors, and/or printers, so that it is readily available to customers. Mills should have it always available to ship to distributors. Each distributor and printer comes up with its own mix of stocking papers, so availability will vary within areas.
Sustainability: Practices that would ensure the continued viability of a product or practice well into the future.
Sustainable Development: An approach to progress that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
T
Totally Chlorine Free (TCF): Virgin paper that is unbleached or processed with a sequence that includes no chlorine or chlorine derivatives. TCF papers are a better choice than any paper that contains chlorine.
Total Suspended Solids (TSS): A measure of the amount of solids (especially pollutants) in wastewater.
Truckload: Generally refers to 40,000 pounds of paper.
U
Uncoated paper: Paper without a clay (often slick) coating.
V
Virgin: Paper made the first time, most often from wood pulp.
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