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Tree
Free Paper Issues
What
will it take to develop more tree free papers? Are all
of them equally beneficial to the environment? What
are the best fibers to use? Do they make good paper?
These
were just a few of the questions we asked of a wide
group of experts on this issue. You can download the
Executive Summary PDF
or of the Full
Study PDF. Or you can read our webpages here
by clicking on the links below.
Executive
Summary - A good overview of the comments.
A
Brief History - Two experts give an overview
of the development of nonwood papers.
Q
40. How do alternative fibers compare
to tree fibers on environmental impacts?
Q
41.
Do the environmental impacts vary by type of tree free
fiber?
Q
42. What is the comparison of impacts
between agricultural residues and on-purpose crops (impacts
on farmers, use of land, need for pesticides and fertilizers,
availability, water and energy, pollution, alternative
uses)?
Q 43.
What is the applicability of tree pulping mills to agricultural
fibers?
Q
44. What is the availability of tree
free pulping facilities, and future outlook?
Q
45. Are there environmental problems in pulping
tree free fibers?
Q
46. Are tree free fibers appropriate for all
types of printing and writing paper?
Q
47. Are there differences in quality or performance?
Q
48. What causes the price differences and what
could reduce them?
Q
49. Are there limits on making tree free pulps
into paper on certain machines?
Q
50. Are there performance problems with certain
equipment?
Q
51. Are there enough tree free fibers
to produce adequate amounts of paper?
Q
52. Can tree free papers be recycled?
Q
53. Is there an optimal mix of tree free fibers
with tree fibers in a paper?
Q 54.
Is it appropriate to expect tree free fibers to also
be organic?
References
SPECIAL
THANKS TO
Vanessa
E-H Stewart, Fiber Futures
for awesome work in organizing and conducting most of
these interviews
Jeanne
Trombly, Fiber Futures
for introducing us to many of the experts
Brian
Herdeg
for terrific website assistance
Study
first published September 26, 2004
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