Displaying items by tag: Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa

It’s fair to assume that most people, when considering ways to fight climate change, don’t immediately think of forestry. But there is a unique climate case for sustainable wood – it is the only material that can naturally and significantly decarbonise our planet by driving down demand for illegally harvested wood, and provide functional alternatives to non-renewable materials that have significantly higher environmental footprints.

“Debunking the notions that industrial forestry is a destructive force isn’t easy, but the global forestry and forest products sector continues to tackle these misconceptions,” says Jane Molony, executive director of the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA). “We stand firm in the fact that a holistic, sustainable and circular forest bioeconomy is essential to fighting climate change.”

To understand why paper and wood products are vital to a lower carbon footprint, we can borrow from Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman’s assertion that trees don’t grow from the ground, they grow from the air. The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Forest Resource Assessment 2015 states that world forests were sequestering close to 300 Gigatonnes of carbon.

Commercial forestry achieves this both through growing trees, which absorb carbon dioxide, but also by harvesting them at the right time, with carbon being stored in harvested wood products.

"Harvesting makes space for younger trees that take up more carbon dioxide than their older counterparts," says Molony, adding that the climate benefit is thus evident in two places. "Through a stable and increasing carbon storage in the forest itself, and in the forest products."

Molony notes, "Many vilify the forestry sector without understanding its renewability and circularity, and fail to recognise its ability to store carbon and crucially, how it helps to cut back on fossils." That said, feforestation, however, must be reduced in the context of indigenous or tropical forests, and illegal wood trade.

Climate change is not caused by people in developing countries felling trees. Instead, it’s caused by high- and middle-income countries burning fossils. We need to focus on displacing these fossil emissions by using wood’s inherent power as the ultimate renewable.

"We do this, first, by increasing uptake of wood products in traditional markets. Organisations like FAO recognise wood as a viable substitute for carbon-intensive materials such as steel and concrete in construction, and plastic and textiles in everyday applications. It is also present in everyday life in the form of paper, tissue, packaging and cellulose products," comments Molony.

2022 04 21 102314

"Second, we need to explore the potential of wood fibre and process waste in new applications, such as the use of lignin for batteries for electronics, or extracting sugars and hemicellulose for bio-based chemicals.  

"Third, we need to ensure we have enough trees to supply the increased demand for wood-based products."

South African ecosystems are not tree dominated. "We only have half a million hectares of indigenous forests, which are fragmented and occur along the south and eastern coastal inland mountains. Importantly, they are protected."

South Africa plants fast-growing exotic tree species to produce timber, and currently have 1.2 million hectares of these industrial plantations. Also, 25% of forestry owned land is not planted with trees, but home to wetlands, grasslands, indigenous forests and area of high conservation value.

Tree breeding and sustainable intensification (planting more productive trees on less land) are actively being practised in South Africa. The breeding, selecting and testing of new hybrid varieties is aimed at increasing pulp yield per hectare across diverse climatic regions. Trees are also bred for superior wood properties and resistance to biotic and abiotic threats including frost, drought, pests and diseases. 

"As a sector, we can demonstrate that having commercial plantations has prevented the increased use, destruction, and degradation of natural forests. This speaks to the heart of the way South African forests are managed – sustainably and responsibly," suggests Molony.

It also speaks to the fact that the sector doesn’t harvest swathes of trees, leaving the land desolate for years. Forestry companies have nurseries growing more trees, that will take the place of those gone before, most often at a ratio of 2:1. Even harvesting residues are left behind to enhance soil fertility and protection.

Finally, harvesting wood makes the circular bio-economy possible. "If we don’t have sustainably grown and sourced wood, we can’t replace fossil-based products and do all of the things that climate adaptation demands."

Published in Energy News

Even before extended producer responsibility (EPR) was mandated by the South African Government in May 2021, the pulp and paper manufacturing and recycling sector has been embarking on process and production innovation to reduce its environmental footprint, divert waste from landfill and stay ahead of the circular economy curve. 

What is the circular economy? It’s a closed loop of taking, making and re-using – as opposed to a linear “take-make-waste” approach.

The problem with the linear model is clear. When we treat raw materials (such as wood and water) and energy as infinite, we end up with waste. Waste costs money –  which in itself is waste, especially when you consider the costs of landfilling, the loss of reusable materials, and the livelihoods that could have been supported. There are also losses at the expense of the environment – greenhouse gas emissions when waste degrades.

The circular economy, however, is based on three core principles: reducing waste by design, retaining materials in circulation and restoring the systems from which resources are extracted.

Contrary to popular belief and opinion, the paper industry has for many years adopted the circular approach.

Fibres are pulped with water to make a slurry which is then sent through a series of refiners before heading to the paper machine.Fibres are pulped with water to make a slurry which is then sent through a series of refiners before heading to the paper machine.

Circles in the forest

We should all know by now that paper comes from the wood of trees – even the fibres in recycled paper came from a tree at some point in their lives. In South Africa’s case, these trees are sustainably farmed in plantations, with stringent management of their impact on water, soil, neighbouring indigenous landscapes and biodiversity.

Gone are the days of detrimental, wall-to-wall afforestation. Today, forestry companies work in tandem with wetlands, riparian zones and high conservation value areas to create a mosaic of planted trees and conservation spaces.

Sustainable forest management balances economic, social and environmental needs. While forestry practices optimise the land’s ability to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration, they also act as buffers for protected indigenous areas.

Depending on the species – usually eucalyptus or pine – these trees take around seven to 10 years to reach maturity. The reason we use exotic species is because they are fast-growing and we cannot – and will not – use indigenous trees for wood or paper products.

Currently, South Africa has 850 million trees growing over 676 000 hectares reserved for pulp and papermaking. Here’s the rub: less than 10% of this total area (67 600 hectares) is harvested during the year. The same area is replanted with new trees – saplings – often at a ratio of two trees for each one harvested.

This is the first circle: plant, grow, harvest, replant…

The circle of life

The circular economy in forestry extends to leaving forest residues in-situ as a mulch for the next generation of trees. After harvesting, bark, limbs, leaves and small parts of the harvested trees are left on the forest floor, offering sustenance and refuge for creatures that aid in the decomposition of organic matter, which in turn attracts birds – and so we have another circle.

In addition, through photosynthesis, trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into food for growth. They also take up water, from the ground or from rainfall. They keep the carbon locked up in their fibres and give us back the oxygen, and some water is also returned to the atmosphere through transpiration.

Circular production processes

Even pulp and paper mills operate in a closed loop process, by using natural resources efficiently – often more than once.

Process water is reused and recycled, lost fibre is recovered and reused, and spent chemicals are recovered for energy production. Even bark – a biomass – is used to power boilers, producing steam that generates electricity.

This sees us being better at using more of the tree, ensuring little goes to waste. 

Circling the bin

Once pulp and paper are made into what we know – office paper, magazines, books, pizza boxes, cereal boxes, cardboard boxes, newspapers, milk and juice cartons, paper cups – the circle starts to hit home. Office paper can be printed on both sides, and boxes can be reused as storage. Magazines and newspapers are used by school children for projects and posters.

Importantly, paper fibres can be recycled up to seven times; how we dispose of paper products creates another circle. With a four-year average recovery rate of 70%, paper is the second most recovered material in South Africa.

By putting them in our rubbish bin, paper products will go to landfill – or if they are lucky to be retrieved by a waste collector, they might get to a recycling mill. But this requires that people apply some basic practices to recycling paper.

Ideally, we want paper products separate from wet waste – this keeps them clean for recycling. Even the simple act of placing recycling in a separate bag or box for a waste collector who sells these back to a recycling mill makes a considerable difference.

Recovered paper is reprocessed and made into corrugated boxes, tissue, cereal boxes and moulded protective packaging that comes back into our homes, and which we use and recycle. And so the paper cycle – or circle – continues. The carbon also stays locked up for longer when paper is recycled.

Circles in the laboratory

This is where our circles get really exciting. Some wood-based products are already in circulation in everyday life. Dissolving wood pulp is used in food, pharmaceutical and textile industries. Cellulose is used as a binder, emulsifier and filler. It’s in our low-fat yoghurt, cheese and ice cream; it’s in the bathroom cabinet in our lipsticks and vitamins.

Our sector can extract xylitol from wood to make non-nutritive sweeteners, and it can also make bricks and bio-composites from paper sludge, the leftovers from the paper recycling process when fibres become too short for use.

We can make plastic, membranes and films with cellulose, and biodegradable alternatives to fossil fuels from lignin. We have students developing biodegradable fruit fly attractant sheets from nanocellulose, and controlled release fertiliser coated with cellulose, starch and diatomite (silica). We can also make attractants for mosquitoes from cellulose-based materials, to help society in the fight against malaria.

By increasing the circularity in our sector, we can ensure that we not only increase our contribution to society, the economy and employment, but the forest products sector can be part of the solution to climate change and green economic recovery.

Consumers can play their part too. By using pulp and paper products that are certified and responsibly produced, and by recycling paper products, we can practise sound environmental stewardship and be part of the circle.

Published in Press Releases

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.”

I recently drew cash at an ATM and was greeted with an on-screen message: “If everyone said no to a receipt just for one month, we would save 45 trees.” This is a classic example of greenwashing: making unsubstantiated or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, technology or company practice.

These green claims often have no scientific basis to them – environmental myths have been published so often on the internet that they are deemed as facts.

Companies would prefer that you did not print the receipt because it saves them money. 

2020 05 27 093704

You may have been encouraged “save the planet” by opting to receive bills or magazines electronically. Again, this is a cost-saving measure, and a practical one considering the state of our local postal system (and the associated carbon footprint); but instead companies “greenwash” it by saying you’re saving trees.

Personally, I prefer to receive bills online because it’s just more convenient (not greener) – and I’m the world’s worst filer – or the world’s best piler. But give me a printed magazine over a digi-mag with page-turning sound effects any day!

The most common form of greenwash is that little footer at the bottom of emails – “think before you print”. If you need to print it, print it. And re-use it or recycle it once it’s been dealt with. If you’re going to be referring to something regularly, print it out and file it. Every time you open a document, your computer or device consumes energy – and in South Africa, we haven’t quite got the energy mix on the greener side just yet, that's if we have any at all.

Facts about forestry and farmed trees

Statements about saving trees by not printing are blatantly untrue. Firstly, the fibre for our paper and wood products is not sourced from from indigenous forests or rainforests (we don’t have rainforests in South Africa).

Paper along with a myriad of wood-, paper- and tissue-based items are made from farmed trees, and recycled paper (which came from trees in the first place). Certain species of trees are planted in crops in South Africa specifically for the paper and wood industries, with a small percentage harvested for use each year which are then replanted within the same year.  This is VERY different to deforestation which is the denuding of forested land for the likes of urban development (shopping mall, our homes, office parks) and agriculture.

Plantations are also not irrigated – they get their water from rain and groundwater and the sector even pays a “rain tax” – or streamflow reduction levy.

This make trees – and anything made from them – a renewable resource. Have you ever been asked to eat less carrots or cabbage to save the vegetable farm? No, you are supporting farmers by eating their produce.

Recycling paper does not save trees

Stating that your company has saved X number of trees because you’ve implemented a paper recycling programme is also misguided. As trees are farmed for the purpose of making paper, they do not need to be saved.

Paper recycling is important for other reasons. It diverts a useful material from landfill which paper, packaging and tissue manufacturers re-use to make stuff you use every day.

The recycling of one tonne of “paper does not save 17 pine trees” but it will save around three cubic metres of landfill space and that is something to be proud of. And it keeps the carbon in the paper fibre (absorbed from the air by the tree) locked up for longer.

One person’s waste is another’s treasure

Paper recycling – from the collection and buy-back centres to the reprocessing and manufacturing into new products – also sustains local jobs.

Recycling reclaimers and waste pickers have helped to increase the collection of hard-to-get post-consumer waste, especially office paper, which is why keeping your paper recycling separate and dry is better for them – they get more for cleaner paper.

In 2018, 71.7% of recoverable paper – 1.285 million tonnes of documents, newspaper, magazines, cardboard boxes of countless kinds, and milk and juice cartons – was diverted from landfills for re-use.

Using recycled printer paper is not necessarily greener

Recycled printing and copy paper is not made in South Africa – this is imported, carrying an additional carbon footprint. Companies should be purchasing locally made copy paper. There are two well-known South African brands, both of which are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) as sustainably produced.

So consider the environment before you greenwash your marketing claims.

But make a noise about using locally produced paper, your successful recycling programme and that you are supporting informal collectors or small businesses by making their paper and other recyclables available to them.

For more information, visit www.thepaperstory.co.za and www.recyclepaper.co.za

Published in Press Releases