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Sustainability: Use Paper From Sustainable Forests
MYTH: You should only use recycled paper.
FACT: Paper made from sustainable forests is best.
Paper made from sustainable forests is needed to start the paper cycle
The papermaking process is a sustainable cycle. Recycled fibres are used as effectively as possible, while new fibres are constantly brought in to replenish and maintain the process.
Recycled paper can be used in some grades more than others. For example, newsprint and some types of packaging are often made with 100% recycled fibre.
High-grade graphic papers, however, have a lower utilisation rate, around 13%, but when recycled, inject the cycle with virgin fibres.
- 72% of Australia’s native forest area is comprised of areas that are completely bounded by forest
- A total of 68% of Australia’s native forest is in patches of over 100 thousand hectares.
- A total stock of 21,949 Mt C (million tonnes of carbon) was stored in Australia’s at the end of June 2016. Of this forest carbon store:
- 85% was stored in non-production native forests, 14% in production native forests and 1.2% in plantations
- 36% was in above-ground biomass and 64% was in belowground
Australia’s State of the Forests Report,2018
Fibre can be recycled several times, yet not indefinitely, depending on the paper grade. Therefore, there is a continuous need to feed the inflow of recovered fibre with paper products made of virgin pulp. Paper recycling needs to continuously incorporate a certain amount of fresh fibres for three main reasons: strength, quality and availability.
-European Paper Recycling Council, 2017