Acorn Desgins Journals
When Acorn Designs started in 1981 the average American used
about 400 pounds of paper each year. It was thought that computers
would help to make us a “paperless” society. But the reverse has been
true...in 2003 American paper use exceeded 700 pounds of paper per
person. There is an ecological story behind every product we consume.
Paper casts a large ecological shadow, from the gathering of the source
material through its pulping, bleaching and processing. Early
papers were made from annual and perennial plants; the derivation of
the word “paper” is from the aquatic “papyrus” plant of the Nile Valley
which was used to make paper. In the 18th Century we developed
technologies that enabled us to use tree fiber for paper. Trees
represented a large store of fiber for paper-making. However there is a
down side to using trees for paper. Trees require large amounts of
energy to mechanically grind them into an appropriate size for pulping.
Trees contain high levels of dark-colored lignins, adhesive chemicals
which must be removed to make tree fibers usable. Chemical treatments,
generally using harsh sulfur compounds, are applied to wood pulp in a
“cooking” process that generally removes about 95% of the lignins. A
final bleaching step is then applied to the pulp commonly using
chlorine to whiten the fibers. In its interaction with wood fibers
chlorine produces dioxins and other organochlorine by-products; dioxins
are among the most toxic man-made substances ever produced. Washing
chemicals out of bleached pulp requires large amounts of water
(13,000-25,000 gallons/ ton of paper) and this dioxin-laced water is
usually released to the environment. Agricultural crops such as
Kenaf and Hemp are much more ecologically soft sources of fiber for
paper. These crops are not heavy feeders and can be grown without
fertilizers. These plants also grow so rapidly that they crowd out
weeds reducing or eliminating the need for herbicides. Kenaf and Hemp
are naturally resistant to insects and diseases so few or no
insecticides or fungicides are needed. Both Kenaf and Hemp produce 3 to
5 times more usable fiber/acre/year than tree fiber derived from a
southern pine plantation (often considered the best wood fiber paper
source). Once these crops are ready to harvest they require less energy
and chemicals to process than tree-based fibers. Kenaf and Hemp fibers
are naturally lighter than wood fibers, so bleaching can be minimized
or eliminated. The infrastructure for crops such as Kenaf and
Hemp is still young but very promising. Given a level playing field,
Kenaf and Hemp would be very cost-competitive with tree-based fibers.
It should be mentioned that tree-based fibers offer a false
economy...the Federal Government subsidizes the paper industry which is
one reason why wood-based papers are so inexpensive. Recycling of
any resource is generally the most ecologically-friendly method of
creating that resource, or perhaps we should say re-creating? In the
case of paper, fiber derived from recycled paper sources can be made
without harsh sulfur and chlorine treatments. Paper from recycled
sources saves energy, chemical treatments and water use, not to mention
saving trees. However, as paper fiber is recycled, fiber length gets
shorter which creates a weaker paper. So the introduction of new fiber
into a paper mix will always be required to some degree. Typical paper
fibers can be recycled about 5 times before they get too short for
acceptable paper. In an ideal recycling culture, papers would be made
from perhaps 20-30% new fiber and 70-80% recycled fibers. We believe
that new fiber sources should come from such sources as Kenaf When
we first started our business in 1981 US paper recycling rates were at
a dismal 5%. With growing ecological awareness the paper recycling
rates in the US reached a very respectable 42% in 2003! To help drive
the recycling movement it is important to support products with
recycled content.
USA
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