Translating Recycled Paper Lingo into a Language You Can Understand
by Brian J. Cowie, CEO and Founder, The Paper Mill Store

Today, paper mills are producing more recycled fine paper than at any other time. The quality and diversity of recycled papers has never been better and more interesting to use for graphic design projects.

The benefit of paper recycling to sustainable manufacturing processes is important and meaningful. You’d think it would be an easy subject to understand…recycled paper. You might think recycled paper is, well, recycled. No further explanations needed.

It's not that easy. The North American paper industry is filled with many exceptions and unusual ways of presenting paper information. And in the realm of confusing paper information, recycled paper is no exception.

To bring some clarity to this issue, I spoke with one of the leading paper and graphics industry observers, Sabine Lenz of PaperSpec.com. Sabine provided some good, clear information and, as always, some interesting perspective. Let's start with the basics. What are the paper fiber options used today?

Certain paper grades require different mixes of virgin, post- and pre-consumer fiber. Papermaking is a little like baking a cake in that you need a pinch of this and a pinch of that to build the aesthetic and physical properties the papermaker is seeking. So the process of making recycled paper isn't easy from a papermaker's perspective. They can't simply make everything from 100% post-consumer waste fiber and achieve all the goals of creating interesting and well-performing papers. As a consumer of paper, you have to weigh the choices according to your design concept and to your client's goals and commitment to supporting low-impact manufacturing processes.

In choosing the best recycled paper for your project, it's important to understand what percentages of virgin fiber / post-consumer waste fiber and pre-consumer waste fiber have been used to make the paper you chose.

Sabine Lenz suggests that you should know exactly what you're getting when spec'ing a recycled paper. "It might sound as good as it gets if mill literature claims a paper is 100% recycled," says Lenz. "But do you know the fiber content breakdown? What percentage of that 100% is pre-consumer waste? What percentage is post-consumer waste? Having this information may lead you to the conclusion that this 100% recycled paper isn't the best recycled paper choice available."

You have to look closer and understand the recycled fiber percentages to make an informed decision that is best for you and your project. For example, which is better — a 100% recycled paper that's 100/30 (or 100TRF/30PCW), 100/50 or 100 PCW? In the case of 100/30, the paper is made of 100% Total Recycled Fiber Content, of which 30% is PCW and 70% is pre-consumer waste.

The answer is…there is no absolute "better" or "best." All choices include a tradeoff. A good case can be made for using papers with the largest percentage of post-consumer waste. Using PCW in papermaking saves a substantial amount of energy, uses fewer trees, reduces landfill usage and saves water. Post-consumer waste is an important fiber in successful recycling programs. On the other hand, when you choose paper with a higher pre-consumer waste content, you lose the benefit of taking used paper out of the consumer waste stream. However, this paper still uses fewer trees, reduces landfill usage and saves water. In addition, pre-consumer waste uses less energy in the collection process and generally requires little or no de-inking.

Your final decision might be based on which environmental issue you are most concerned about. If your main concern is using fewer trees, reducing water usage, lessening landfill space and removing paper from the consumer waste stream, than higher post-consumer waste content might be your best choice. If using less energy and other natural resources while avoiding the production of toxic de-inking sludge is something that concerns you, than you might be more interested in higher pre-consumer waste content. Any combination of pre- and post- consumer waste creates a solid savings of energy and resources and is beneficial in lowering the impact of paper production.

The above statements are not conclusive, but rather simply illustrate the trade offs which can be considered when making paper choices to promote your own environmental concerns. Understanding the choices will help you make the correct decision for your project.

As a final note, if using a recycled paper isn't feasible, you can still support sustainable manufacturing practices by specifying virgin fiber paper from a responsible source. Designations such as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) identify such papers as coming from well-managed forests. Buying FSC paper and FSC envelopes helps to support these well-managed forests and lets manufacturers know that you want better environmental management on a global scale. You are also letting your clients know that you are taking important environmental issues into account when designing projects.

About the author: Brian J. Cowie is the CEO and founder of CTI Paper Group. He has spent the last 18 years developing paper grades, establishing paper brands and building global paper distribution for the group. CTI Paper Group is an industry leader in paper design and distribution. The company is headquartered in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and has three divisions, CTI Paper USA, WorldWin Papers and The Paper Mill Store. In a previous career, Cowie was a general partner of a boutique money management firm, Hugo Securities. Subsequently, he was self-employed as an independent financial futures floor trader on both the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade before founding CTI Paper Group in 1989.