The Daily Plant – Hermie the Worm

When asked what paper is made from, most people would think only of wood fibre derived from trees.

But paper can actually be made from a wide range of different fibres apart from wood pulp.

An Environmental Paper Network State of the Paper Industry report estimates that about 9% of paper fibre comes from non- wood sources globally.

The main sources of non-wood fibres are sugarcane bagasse (the material left after sugar has been extracted), straw and bamboo. Other fibre sources include cotton, reeds, sisal, hemp, jute, kenaf (a type of hibiscus), flax and banana (using the stem and non-utilisable fruit).

Obviously, given the size of the sugar industry in Australia, sugarcane has great potential to be used more widely for paper production in this country.

Sugarcane fibre is a by-product of sugar production, being the fibrous material remaining after raw sugar has been extracted from sugar cane and is one of the most eco-friendly, sustainable and renewable resources suitable for high-quality paper making.

Sugarcane provides a fast growing, annually renewable resource that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during its growth cycle. It is grown and used extensively around the world. When the sugarcane is mature, the harvest is transported to a sugar mill at which time the sugar is extracted from the fibre. The sugar is then used for human consumption, however the fibre is often wasted and has, in the past, caused further environmental problems due to burning as a method of disposal (greenhouse gases are released during the burn-off process).

One Australian manufacturer – Canefields/TNPL – takes waste sugarcane bagasse fibre and uses state-of-the-art technology to create a bagasse pulp suitable for high quality paper making. The company produces newsprint papers from 100% bagasse fibre, while high-quality office and printing papers have a 20% Australian eucalypt plantation fibre added to ensure that the paper is suitable for all office and print applications. As the sugarcane fibre is grown primarily for sugar and the fibre is retrieved (rather than disposed of) these paper products fall under the following Forest Stewardship Council categories:

1. Paper produced from a non-forest resource (alternative fibre);
2. Paper sourced from a renewable resource (crops are constantly renewed for sugar consumption);
3. Recycled paper (as per FSC’s description of papers which are considered recycled).

Another Australian paper supplier – Raleigh – offers a sugarcane-derived paper, Triple Green. Triple Green is made from 60% recycled sugarcane and 40% elemental chlorine free (ECF) softwood fibre sourced from internationally certified Well Managed Forests and accredited through independent third party Chain of Custody (CoC) certification. It is certified under ISO 14001. Triple Green Gloss & Silk is a high quality paper that can be used for applications such as annual reports, brochures and catalogues etc.

For more information or to see a sample of the Triple Green paper stock mentioned in this article, please contact your Paragon Printers Australasia representative.

Profile

Name: Peter Andriske

Position: Prepress Manager

Number of years working at Paragon: Six

Q: What does your role at Paragon Printers involve?

A: I oversee all work in the prepress area and maintain all software and hardware. Problem solving and client support are a large part of my duties. It is also my role to check all jobs when they are first entered in prepress to ensure all files are correct to the client specifications.

Q: When talking about Prepress services, the Sales Reps often refer to “running to ICC profiles”, what does this mean?

A: Paragon prepress offer a colour guarantee that the proof seen by the client will match the final product. We run our proofs to the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standard for offset printing. At Paragon we have taken every step to ensure accuracy and quality, we run ICC profiles to match the ISO standard for coated paper and uncoated paper, what this means is if your job is printed on uncoated stock you will receive a proof from Paragon calibrated to the uncoated profile. Having coated and uncoated proofs ensures the client is shown exactly what they can expect from the printing process with the stock they have chosen.

Bargain hunters around the country scoured backyards and garages on Sunday, April 10, as part of what has been described as the world’s biggest garage sale.

Instead of being held at a single venue, however, it was dispersed across more than 1600 locations this year, according to organisers.
The Garage Sale Trail started last year at Bondi in Sydney with 126 sales across the suburb, each selling an average of $750 worth of goods.

This year it spread its wings nationally with 25 local councils around Australia lending their support to the concept, which aims to promote sustainability, creativity and community.

Some of the major sales included Rose’s Birthday Massive Garage Sale in Fitzroy, Melbourne; Trash and Treasure at Greenslopes in Brisbane; The Obnoxious Owl Sale at Mount Lawley in Western Australia and the Surry Hills Village Sale in Sydney.

Celebrities including Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom and model Annalise Braakensiek sold wares, in their cases these included signed rugby jerseys and bikinis.

Event founder Daryl Nichols said while sustainability was a key goal of the event, community interaction was also important.

“I guess my key aim for the day is there’s a whole lot of pre-loved goods that would otherwise be sent to landfill that are finding a new home,” he told the ABC.

“There’s a whole lot of neighbours that are meeting each other and communities that are coming together, and ultimately a whole bunch of Australians just out there and having a bit of fun.”

After recently being re-launched into the marketplace, Australia’s largest mpaperstock brand – Impress (and Impress.
dm) – has completed a comprehensive and transparent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This has allowed stock available from 1
February to be certified as carbon-neutral.

The LCA measures all of the greenhouse emissions related to the production of Impress and Impress.dm, as well as emissions associated with the end-of-life of the product – a process referred to as “cradle-to-grave” analysis.

The manufacturers of Impress have employed emission reduction practices utilising carbon-neutral bio fuels such as black liquor, a biofuel which is a byproduct of the pulp production process; to supplement their fossil fuel usage and develop efficient integration practices. The mills that produce Impress Gloss and Satin derive about 70 per cent of their energy requirements from black liquor.

Impress and Impress.dm are exclusive to merchants Dalton and Spicers. These paper merchants have announced they are individually committed to progressively minimising their environmental footprint in measurable ways by efficiently reducing the resources they use. An environmental or carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of greenhouse gas associated with a product, activity or service, expressed as CO2-e (carbon dioxide equivalents) in tonnes.

Both Dalton and Spicers have completed emissions management and reduction plans endeavouring to reduce actual carbon emissions from their businesses, with an aim of decreasing their footprints by 15 per cent over the next three years. Among other things, this will be completed by appropriately managing both direct and indirect emissions of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases.

After Dalton, Spicers and the mills’ efforts to reduce CO2-e emissions, residual greenhouse gas emissions can be offset by the purchase of internationally certified carbon credits. Offsetting is achieved by investing in projects such as tree planting or renewable energy production, which are intended to absorb or reduce carbon emissions by an equivalent amount, thus making it carbon neutral. The credits will be certified under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) program.

Customers will have the choice as to whether or not credits are purchased to make the Impress and Impress.dm papers used in their products carbon neutral. The cost of making Impress fully carbon neutral will be about 3 per cent of the purchase price of the paper.

Carbon price plan

The Government announced at the end of February a two-stage plan for a carbon price mechanism.

It plans to start with a fixed price period for three to five years before moving to an emissions trading scheme.

The Government has proposed that the carbon price be brought in on 1 July 2012, subject to the ability to negotiate agreement with a majority in both houses of Parliament
and pass legislation this year.

Further information is still to be announced in relation to a starting price for the carbon price mechanism, and assistance for households and business.

Political Leaders chat with Hermie

Hermie the Worm has been writing for The Daily Plant for some time now, informing the printing industry and its customers of the latest environmental innovations.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and the Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage, Greg Hunt, visited the Paragon Group’s printing plant at Fyshwick in Canberra on 22 March.

They spoke with many staff as well as managing director Mel Dalgleish and group manager Mal Barnett about issues facing the print industry, and in particular carbon neutral price plans.

Never one to let a chance go by, Hermie ensured he was on hand to meet with Tony Abbott and Greg Hunt so they too could familiarise themselves with his environmental quest.

Hermie took great delight in explaining what measures the Group currently has in place to protect the environment, and what the Group’s future plans are.

Congratulations to the Paragon All Stars who won the Coota Beach Volleyball Carnival on 19-20 February, a long way from the ocean at Cootamundra.

With 96 teams taking part in the carnival, the Paragon All Stars defeated fellow Canberra-based side Smaug 17-15 in a close final.

Paragon’s Despatch Manager, Bounmy Taylor was a key member of the All Stars team.

Johnny Cassat smashed the final point home for All Stars to give them the required two-point buffer (the score was 16- 15 at the siren), continuing a dominance for his team at the
carnival. The win marked their eighth victory in nine outings.

They had to do it the hard way with Smaug winning the first three points of the match.

With just three minutes left on the clock the score was locked at 14-all. A miscommunication in the back court saw Smaug draw within one at the bell but Cassat, who had been
working brilliantly off the sets from Taylor and Vanessa Loudon all match, rammed home the winner.

Photo Courtesy of Cootamundra Herald.

In the lead-up to Clean Up Australia Day on 6 March, the results of the 2010 Rubbish Report were issued, showing that the Australian Capital Territory had the dirtiest parks in Australia.

The report found that nationally:

• Plastics represented 40% of all rubbish found. This included items such as PET drink bottles, bottle caps and lids plus chips/confectionery bags.
• There was a 6% increase in number of rubbish items found per surveyed site, equating to 124 items per square kilometre.
• Cigarette butts were the most commonly found item for the 15th year in a row – one in five waste items removed in 2010 was a cigarette butt.

In NSW there were 2871 sites registered for Clean Up Australia Day in 2011 with an estimated 242,000 volunteers. Organisers said more than 6,300 tonnes of rubbish were collected.
In Victoria there were 1369 sites, about 97,000 volunteers and more than 3,000 tonnes of rubbish.

Queensland had 1495 sites, 90,000 volunteers and more than 3,200 tonnes of rubbish.

South Australia had 600 sites, 55,000 volunteers and more than 1,300 tonnes collected.

Western Australia had 583 sites, 41,500 volunteers and more than 1,200 tonnes of rubbish.

Tasmania had 295 sites, 22,500 volunteers and 649 tonnes collected.

The ACT had 120 sites, 8,200 volunteers and 264 tonnes of rubbish.

The Northern Territory had 67 sites, 5,700 volunteers and 147 tonnes of rubbish.

G’day, I’m Hermie the Worm and this is the March issue of The Daily Plant. The existence of several carbon measurement models to measure the environmental impact of printed matter has led to difficulties comparing different companies in a standard way.

To overcome these difficulties the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has formed a new working group (WG11) which will be charged with formulating an international standard for measuring the environmental impact of printed matter. This move aims to remove the confusion associated with the various carbon measurement models available and aims to create a clear guideline for printing companies wishing to measure their carbon output.

Australia environmental expert Phillip Lawrence has been nominated to this new Working Group by Australia’s ISO TC 130 committee. He previously represented the Australian TC 130 committee as a member of the carbon footprinting task force.

Mr Lawrence has told Australian trade press: “The industry around the world is becoming populated with, for want of a better term, private label calculators. Although it is good to see firms take this activity onboard, the individual calculators do not give stakeholders of the industry the real opportunity to compare carbon output from firm to firm in a standard way.”

Mr Lawrence said local printers should see this as an opportunity. “It gives them a framework to actually come up with a carbon number that they can compare accurately from one printer to another.

“Currently, you have a situation where printing companies are coming up with their own models so the buyers are getting confused. Working to a standard lets them compare one printer to another more accurately.”

Australian TC 130 chairman Luke Wooldridge told the trade press: “The Australian TC 130 committee is once again delighted that Phillip will represent the Australian industry by contributing to the framework of what will be an important new international standard.

“Many printing companies are already very conscious of their impact on the environment; however right now there is not one universally accepted method for measuring this impact. It is hoped that when this new standard is eventually released it will create a clear and consistent way for printers to measure their carbon footprint which will in turn help the industry remain competitive.”

Printing industry consultant Laurel Brunner, convenor of WG11, told British trade press: “There is no single carbon footprinting standard for the print industry, and as a result, there is no consistent way to measure the carbon footprint of print media.

“We are writing a standard that establishes a framework for measuring the carbon footprint of print.”

She said the work would have a long-lasting impact on the industry’s international competitiveness.

Publication of the new standard is expected in time for the Drupa trade fair in Germany in May 2012.

Members of WG11 include print professionals, environmental scientists and authors of print sector specific carbon calculators.

The University of Canberra will this month ban the sale of bottled water on campus and has installed additional bubblers and water refill stations so the 13,000 staff and students can top up their own reusable containers.

The university is the first in the country to go bottled water free and has already been phasing out on-campus sales. The full ban will come into effect on 22 March, World Water Day. The move is the largest of its kind in Australia. It was initiated by students and assisted by action group Do Something!

New water bubblers and bottle refill stations, installed with funding from the ACT Chief Minister’s Department, will significantly increase the supply of fresh, healthy, free drinking water on campus.

Students and staff will also be offered a chilled water alternative to bottled water in the form of the Australia’s first WaterVend machines.

WaterVend machines dispense filtered, “flash- chilled” still, sparkling or flavoured tap water into the customer’s own refillable container. The WaterVend machines provide a cheaper alternative to bottled water in campus food outlets and give those outlets a commercial income to offset the income lost from bottled water sales.

University of Canberra Vice- Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker said the decision was an important part of creating a sustainable campus.

“I’m proud the University of Canberra is taking the lead in the higher education sector by discontinuing the sale of bottled water,” Professor Parker said.

“Tap water has a significantly lower environmental impact than bottled water. Only 43 per cent of plastic bottles are recycled. We have plentiful supplies of fresh, healthy, free drinking water on campus, there is no need for our students or staff to buy bottled water and contribute to the environmental damage it causes.

“I congratulate our students for taking the lead on this initiative and I thank Do Something! and the ACT Government for their assistance. I applaud campus businesses, including our Students’ Association, for supporting the decision to put the health of our environment first.”
About 140,000 bottles of water a year were bought on campus each year.

UC Environment and Sustainability Society representative Greg Stewart, who initiated the move as part of a team based course project and has worked closely on the implementation, said he was delighted to see the idea become a reality.

“The environmental benefits of going bottled water free are huge,” he said.

“We’d hoped to start with a bottled water free day, but the university was really supportive of our idea and now we can make a real difference as a campus.”

Earth Hour, the global environmental campaign created in Australia and taken up by the world, will take place on Saturday 26 March from 8.30pm.

To celebrate the fifth year of the campaign, WWF-Australia is looking for inspiring stories of people who have gone ‘beyond the hour’ and taken action to help create a more sustainable planet.

For the first time, WWF-Australia will run the Earth Hour Awards, recognising the efforts of people from around the country.
WWF-Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman said, “The phenomenal thing about Earth Hour is the changes it has inspired people to make in their every-day lives.

“It is not about one hour of darkness; it is about a lifetime of sustainability.

“Australians continue to show leadership on this important issue, therefore we look forward to seeing some of Australia’s best examples of people going beyond the hour.”

Every Australian can take part in the Earth Hour Awards, with five categories covering different ways people might take action. A People’s Choice Award will be drawn from the pool of finalists.

Nominations can be made online at www.earthhour.org.au

G’day, I’m Hermie the Worm and this is the February issue of The Daily Plant.

Deforestation is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the Earth and so it is fitting that this year has been declared International Year of Forests.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests in an effort to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.

As we have seen in earlier issues of The Daily Plant, Australia’s forestry plantations have grown by more than 50% in the past decade – to more than 2 million hectares – largely because of demand for paper. In 2008 Australia had 147.4 million hectares of native forests, almost exactly the same as a decade earlier, with more and more being placed into permanent reserves.

As we have discussed in previous issues, paper production is not adversely affecting Australia’s forests as a whole, unlike some other parts of the world.

Another area in which Australia’s paper industry is leading the world is in offsetting carbon emissions. This important advance is certified under the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS).

The program allows the Australian operations of organisations or Australian products to be certified under the NCOS as carbon neutral, meaning that net emissions associated with a product or an organisation’s activities are equal to zero. The NCOS started on 1 July 2010, incorporating the earlier functions of Greenhouse Friendly certification, which closed on 30 June 2010.

Some Paper stocks Certified Carbon Neutral by the Department of Climate Change & Energy include:

SAXTON PAPER RANGE:
Australian made specialty papers.

• ISO 14001
• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Mixed Source label
• 100% virgin Fibre
• Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF)

TABLEX PAPER RANGE:
An Australian made multi-purpose System Board.

• ISO 14001
• Certified by the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)
• 100% Virgin Fibre
• Elemental Chlorine Free

STEPHEN PAPER RANGE:
Economical communications paper

• ISO 14001
• FSC Mixed Source label
• 50% Virgin Fibre, 50% Recycled Fibre – post consumer waste
• Elemental Chlorine Free

TUDOR RP 100% RECYCLED PAPER RANGE:
In addition to being certified by the NCOS, sales of Tudor RP support Landcare Australia.

• ISO 14001
• FSC
• • 100% Recycled Fibre – post consumer
• • Board weights – 70% recycled fibre and 30% elemental chlorine free bleached virgin fibre.

REVIVE PAPER RANGE:
Revive Creative Economically priced range of specialty text and cover papers.

• ISO 14001
• FSC Mix
• 30% Virgin Wood, 70% Recovered fibre – post-consumer waste • Elemental Chlorine Free

Revive Fleck
100% recycled range in earthy colours containing contrasting cotton flock inclusions

• ISO 14001
• FSC Recycled • 100% Recovered fibre – post-consumer waste
• Process Chlorine Free (PCF) Revive Laser 100% recycled and laser guaranteed offset grade.
• ISO 14001
• FSC Recycled
• 100% Recovered fibre – post-consumer waste
• 300gsm is FSC Mix, 70% recycled
• Process Chlorine Free (PCF)

For more information or to see a sample of the paper stocks mentioned in this article, please contact your Paragon Printers Australasia representative.