NY Times Sunday Magazine Article on Recycling
MJCESAR
This is a preview of the letter to the editor Jaakko Poyry Consulting is
sending to the NY Times in response to John Tierney's article last sunday:
>>John Tierney's article has considerable merit in pointing out that there
are costs to recycling. Due to these costs, the wrong kind of government
regulation can indeed lead to situations where the costs exceed the
benefits.
However, specifically in the case of the forest products industry, it is
important to recognize that recovered fiber is a valuable source of raw
material and plays a vital role in the global supply of fiber. Recycled
paper makes up about 40% of the fiber used for papermaking worldwide.
Global paper demand over the next 10 years is estimated to grow
approximately 2.5% per year (about the same as world population). Over
50% of the wood harvested globally is used for fuel; 30% is cut primarily
to make solid wood products; the rest is cut specifically for paper and
board production. By 2010, about 20% more wood will be harvested to meet
global demand for all forest products. If recycled fiber were not
available, timber harvests would have to increase 80% over current levels.
The U.S. is a major supplier of recycled fiber to the rest of the world
since we consume more paper per capita than anyone else. We export about
25% of the paper we collect. The U.S. is also one of the world's main
sources of wood. The nation's forests may have three times more wood
today than in 1920, but Americans consume fifteen times more paper and
paperboard than in 1920.
Therefore, recycled fiber is a crucial raw material for the pulp and paper
industry. Government measures to encourage recycling need to be aimed at
securing and increasing this availability. The private industry should be
allowed to freely decide on the most economical way to utilize this
resource.
Jose Iribarne
MJCESAR (mjc...@aol.com) wrote:
: John Tierney's article has considerable merit in pointing out that there
: are costs to recycling. Due to these costs, the wrong kind of government
: regulation can indeed lead to situations where the costs exceed the
: benefits.
: However, specifically in the case of the forest products industry, it is
: important to recognize that recovered fiber is a valuable source of raw
: material and plays a vital role in the global supply of fiber. Recycled
: paper makes up about 40% of the fiber used for papermaking worldwide.
I have not read Tierney's article, but I am also worried that the present
effort to recycle recovered paper into more paper and board products may
not be the best option. Several independent studies suggest that it may be
wiser to use recovered paper as an energy source.
In 1991, Gilbreath concluded that the highest positive global carbon
dioxide uptake is achieved by combining reforestation with burning of
recovered paper as a fuel source [Gilbreath, K.R.; "Solid waste and global
warming impacts of recycled fiber," Focus '95+ (Atlanta), Proc. pp. 61-81,
TAPPI Press, Atlanta, 1991]. He indicates that, from a global warming
standpoint, recycling rates should not exceed 30 to 40%.
These results are consistent with recent Scandinavian analysis [Lindstrom,
T; Hultman, B.; "The influence of Future Environmental Issues on
Developments in the Pulp and Paper Industry," 1st EcoPaperTech (Helsinki),
pp. 95-113, KCL-PI, Helsinki, 1995; Pajula, T.; Karna, A.; "Life Cycle
Scenarios of Paper", 1st EcoPaperTech (Helsinki), pp. 191-203, KCL-PI,
Helsinki, 1995].
Current AF&PA goal to recycle an overall 50% of paper products by the year
2000 is probably justified from economic and public image standpoints.
However, using recovered paper to replace fossil fuels may be even better.
Regards,
Jose Iribarne
SUNY-ESF
Disclaimer: these opinions are of my responsibility only.
MJCESAR
Recovered paper does have value as a source of fuel. In some cases, it
might be the best possible use (especially for heavily commingled paper or
contaminated paper).
However, the cost of getting it to where the fuel sources are needed might
make it prohibitive compared to other fuels. You really can't make
generalizations.
Jose Iribarne
MJCESAR (mjc...@aol.com) wrote:
: However, the cost of getting [recovered paper] to where the fuel
: sources are needed might make it prohibitive compared to other fuel.
Obviously recovered paper is not going to replace liquid fuels in
transportation or other dispersed uses. It could be used for co-generation
at the recycled mills or to replace coal in urban power plants.
: You really can't make generalizations.
I couldn't agree more. My point is that we cannot look at recyled paper
products as the *only* outlet for recovered paper. In several grades we
are reaching the point were the effort to clean the raw material is
prohibitive in terms of energy, chemicals, and solid waste (sludge)
production. We have to look at this problem on a broader scale.
Ola Thoen
> MJCESAR (mjc...@aol.com) wrote:
> : John Tierney's article has considerable merit in pointing out that there
> : are costs to recycling. Due to these costs, the wrong kind of government
> : regulation can indeed lead to situations where the costs exceed the
> : benefits.
> : However, specifically in the case of the forest products industry, it is
> : important to recognize that recovered fiber is a valuable source of raw
> : material and plays a vital role in the global supply of fiber. Recycled
> : paper makes up about 40% of the fiber used for papermaking worldwide.
>
> I have not read Tierney's article, but I am also worried that the present
> effort to recycle recovered paper into more paper and board products may
> not be the best option. Several independent studies suggest that it may be
> wiser to use recovered paper as an energy source.
Sorry, have not read this article but I have some experience whith the
life cycle perspective of paper.
My company, Elanders, has made several life cycle asessments (LCA) of our
major printed products. What struck us as a paradox was that that a
politically correct issue that the more paper that was recycled the
better, was not at all scientifically correct. We concentrated on
telephone directories/yellow pages which have nearly a 100% distribution
to all households in Norway. We learned that the energy costs in producing
paper, distribution and eventually collecting the paper could cost more
than using it for heating or composting it. The main reasons were that if
you included more than about 20% of recycled fibre in the pulp, you have
to add energy to the papermaking process, and also that the petrol used
for the cars to collect the paper made a great impact on the total. All in
all we found that producing paper and transportation of the product to the
consumers stood for more than 80% of the impact on the environment.The
rest was printing and finishing.
> In 1991, Gilbreath concluded that the highest positive global carbon
> dioxide uptake is achieved by combining reforestation with burning of
> recovered paper as a fuel source [Gilbreath, K.R.; "Solid waste and global
> warming impacts of recycled fiber," Focus '95+ (Atlanta), Proc. pp. 61-81,
> TAPPI Press, Atlanta, 1991]. He indicates that, from a global warming
> standpoint, recycling rates should not exceed 30 to 40%.
>
> These results are consistent with recent Scandinavian analysis [Lindstrom,
> T; Hultman, B.; "The influence of Future Environmental Issues on
> Developments in the Pulp and Paper Industry," 1st EcoPaperTech (Helsinki),
> pp. 95-113, KCL-PI, Helsinki, 1995; Pajula, T.; Karna, A.; "Life Cycle
> Scenarios of Paper", 1st EcoPaperTech (Helsinki), pp. 191-203, KCL-PI,
> Helsinki, 1995].
>
> Current AF&PA goal to recycle an overall 50% of paper products by the year
> 2000 is probably justified from economic and public image standpoints.
> However, using recovered paper to replace fossil fuels may be even better.
Regarding the ecolological costs of collecting paper from consumers and
transporting it to the paper mills, there will be variations between
sparsely and dense populated areas. Also the infrastructure for transport
and recycling in the communities will affect the ecological impact of the
recycling process. I believe that overall goal for the recycling of paper
has to consider the local possibilities for achieving this goal and there
must be different goals for different parts of the country.
What i really important is that we consider the cost of recycling when we
make up thew goals for what we want to collect, and do some investigations
before we draw the conclusions.
Disclaimer: these opinions are of my responsibility only.
--
Ola Thoen
Privat:
E-mail: olat...@idgonline.no
Jobb:
E-mail: o...@elanders.no