Tree-Free Paper
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
(Natural Abaca Fibre aka Manila Hemp)
Since my bagasse post last month, I’ve been curious about tree-free paper - and why it’s not more readily available. Relying on trees for paper is a relatively recent development - the first machine and process for pulping wood was invented in the mid 19th century. Prior to this, pulped rags (cotton and linen) and other materials had been used for nearly 2000 years (5,000 years ago Egyptians began to use papyrus but it’s technically not a true paper because it’s layered as a mat rather than made from pulped cellulose).
As paper demand increased and the availability of rags diminished, people began to experiment with fibres such as straw, cabbage, hemp, rattan, wasp nests (!) and finally wood. Softwood pulp became the favoured material. Unfortunately, our demand for paper continues to climb, despite the popularity and prevalence of electronic media and communication. Paper usage is rising by 20% every year, and the average office worker uses 50 sheets of paper per day every year (source: Green Office Makeover). Some statistics claim 2 out of every 5 trees in North America are cut for paper, others say it’s about half (source: Print Net Incorporated). An aside for fellow west coasters: 40% percent of the trees cut in BC are used for paper. All of this is threatening the future of our forests.
In addition to bagasse, other “agripulps” being used and explored as alternatives to tree-based paper include:
- Abaca: Similar to a banana plant, without the bananas. Fibre is stripped from the stem of the stalks. Main use is specialty paper.
- Kenaf: Member of the hibiscus family, related to cotton and okra. Been used for 4,000 years as a source of fibre. One acre of kenaf produces as much fibre in one year as one acre of yellow pine does in 20 years.
- Sisal: Leaves of sisal plant and its hybrids are used. Sisal paper has a high tear resistance.
- Hemp: Can be used for every quality of paper. Its low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in tree-based papermaking, and its light colour reduces the need for chlorine bleaching techniques. An acre of hemp will produce as much pulp for paper as four acres of trees over a 20 year period.
- Flax: Very long, high quality fibres ideal for papermaking. Can also be added to recycled tree-based paper to add strength lost during recycling process (instead of virgin tree fibre).
It appears there are lots of viable alternatives, offering environmental and economic benefits including higher pulp yields and reduced reliance on the large amount of water and chemicals used during wood-pulp paper production.
Yet, despite this positive news, I found it difficult to identify large North American manufacturers or suppliers of tree-free pulp/paper or much information about industry initiatives in this area. Searching recent news articles for tree-free or non-tree paper didn’t yield many results at all. I did find a number of online and offline retailers who carry specialty papers – notecards, sketchbooks, etc. made from alternative sources - but I didn’t get a sense that North American companies or governments are pursuing these alternatives in any significant way. I may be wrong. I hope I am. If anyone knows more about this, I’d love to hear about it.
