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Paper products

Despite predictions of “the paperless office”, office paper remains essential to our work in government agencies, and New Zealand as a whole uses about 48,000tonnes of it every year. Sanitary paper products are essential in washrooms and kitchens but present a significant impact on the environment due to non recyclability.

The global impacts of paper production and use are significant. They include contribution to climate change, air and water pollution, soil erosion, loss of forest habitat, and waste to landfill.

Paper consumers who wish to help reduce these impacts can choose to take the actions recommended on this website. They give effect to core Govt3 principles:

Core Govt3 principles	Recommended actions
Refer to ecolabels	Prefer products with an Environmental Choice NZ license (EC-26-07 Office Paper and Stationery) or other third-party audited life cycle ecolabel, or can show that they meet similar criteria. eg, Good Environmental Choice (Australia), Nordic Swan, EU Flower, Blue Angel (Europe) or EcoMark (Japan). EMS labels such as ISO 14001, EMAS, or EnviroMark are not equivalent, as they do not demonstrate impact reduction.
Buy recycled	Prefer paper products with post-consumer recycled content - minimum 30%, best 100%. Benefits of using recycled content paper
Protect ecosystems	For paper products with virgin fibres, prefer those made from fibre sourced from third-party certified legal and sustainable forestry.
Protect ecosystems	There are mandatory requirements for core Public Service Departments regarding Paper procurement. For more information see the Ministry of Economic Development’s Sustainable Procurement Project Category Reviews.
Reduce toxics	Prefer paper products which have been bleached with reduced use of chlorine - minimum ECF (elemental chlorine free), best TCF (totally chlorine free) or PCF (process chlorine free). For some applications (packaging, folder covers, sanitary papers) unbleached paper is an effective option for retaining functionality while reducing toxin use. Other toxins used in paper making in addition to bleaching agents (eg. EDTA, APEOs, dyes) are addressed by lifecycle ecolabels like Environmental Choice NZ.
Maximise resource efficiency	Reduce your demand for Office paper, for example: Use electronic versions instead of paper copies. Ensure your printers and copiers can print two-sided (duplex), and that this is set as default. Set fonts and margins to improve efficiency of paper use. Re-use single-sided copies for rough drafts and notepaper. Print in booklet format (two pages per sheet) Use the mailbox option on printing devices to reduce uncollected printing. Savings from buying less paper can help cover costs if the more sustainable paper brands are more expensive.
Reduce waste to landfill	Recycle your waste office paper Prefer packaging which has recycled content and is recyclable. Avoid paper products that are labelled, coated or treated and would prevent paper recycling. Compost your waste paper towels and napkins See tools and resources for recycling systems.

Organisations that choose to implement the recommended actions also contribute to other core Govt3 principles, as follows:

Energy efficiency	Choosing life cycle ecolabelled products and/or recycled content papers supports energy-efficient paper production.
Water efficiency	Choosing life cycle ecolabelled products and/or recycled content papers supports water-efficient paper production.
Use renewable resources	Paper is made primarily from renewable plant fibres.

Benefits of recycled content paper

Recycled content paper is promoted by the Govt3 programme because it helps to reduce a number of environmental impacts at once. Recycled paper:

Diverts paper waste from landfill
Helps support a viable market for paper recycling
Reduces forestry related impacts (soil, habitat, pesticides)
Reduces impacts from pulping trees (energy, water, chemicals)

Energy is required to collect and process recycled paper, just as energy is required to harvest and transport trees, but the largest energy and chemicals requirement for paper is in conversion of trees to pulp and pulp to paper. Looking at the whole paper life cycle, large net energy and pollution savings can be achieved through using recycled content paper.
The US Environmental Defense’s Paper Task Force has created an on-line paper calculator based on research conducted for a peer-reviewed study of the lifecycle environmental impacts of paper production and disposal.

Paper fibres cannot be recycled endlessly (fibres break down after about 5 cycles in higher grade applications), and some specialist functions require paper containing only new fibres. Even when the global paper cycle reaches maximum utilisation of recycled fibres there will still be a significant need for virgin pulp.

Ministry for the Environment Paper Buyers Guide

The Ministry for the Environment has worked with paper suppliers to produce a Paper Buyers Guide. This covers brands of office paper, commercial printing papers, and hygiene paper currently available in New Zealand.

For more information contact: govt3@mfe.govt.nz.

For further information, the following resources may assist.

Conservatree – Source of information on environmental papers (US)
Cutting Paper - Practical information on how to reduce paper use. (US)
Know your paper – A guide to Purchasing Recycled Content Office Paper (NSW, Australia)
The Govt3 team at govt3@mfe.govt.nz