Issues > January/February 2006 (#112) > Paper Products SSC: Runny nose? Don't blow it on the wrong paper

Paper Products SSC: Runny nose? Don't blow it on the wrong paper

Spills and messes are a fact of life, but you don't have to compound the problem by cleaning them up with chlorine-bleached paper towels made from virgin pulp. While recycled paper has taken hold in the office, it's also widely available to cover all of your household uses. Whether you're plying your children with tissues for winter mornings or racing to catch an expanding puddle of milk, a wide variety of paper towels, napkins, toilet paper and tissues can be found to fit your needs. And be sure to download our Paper Products Smart Shopper's Card to take to the store with you (see sidebar).

Environmental Damage

Paper derived from virgin wood pulp carries a double environmental burden. Deforestation and indiscriminate logging damage ecosystems and the man-made environment by increasing erosion, silting and flooding. In processing, companies bleach paper products with chlorine or chlorine derivatives to maintain the white tissue we've all come to expect. These bleaching practices release dioxins, known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, into the environment. And the chlorine industry itself has been a major source of neurotoxic mercury emissions into the atmosphere.

Tissue products make up a large portion of the paper products industry. Unfortunately, unlike copy and printer paper, recycling tissue paper not an option; it is used once and thrown away. 40 percent of trash found in U.S. landfills consists of paper products according to non-profit Green Seal, a certifier of environmentally sound paper and other green products.

What To Look For

Switching to recycled products takes minimal effort, but can have a large impact on resource consumption. Consider this, the average American uses 50 pounds of tissue paper (toilet paper, paper towels, etc) a year, according to Conservatree, a non-profit seeking to convert paper markets to environmental papers.

The key to shopping for recycled paper products is to pay attention to labels. Beyond the brand names and colorful pictures lies information on recycled content, post consumer waste content and the method of bleaching used.

Be sure to look for goods that have the highest Post Consumer Waste (PCW) content. The percentage of PCW in a recycled product refers to the amount of pulp derived from paper that was used by consumers and then recycled. This saves trees and promotes the use of recycled paper.

Seek out products labeled Processed Chlorine Free (PCF). This means that no additional chlorine or chlorine derivatives have been used to bleach the final recycled product. Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) may also appear on labels of recycled products. However, such labels mean a chlorine derivative has been used to bleach the paper. Although ECF reduces emissions compared with chlorine gas, it still contributes dioxins into the environment.

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