ENVIRONMENTAL DEFINITIONS

CANADIAN STANDARDS ASSOCIATION (CSA) GUIDELINES - The Guidelines state that Government printed materials should be on paper containing 50% recycled fiber of which 10% must be post-consumer recycled fiber. Under these Canadian standards the amounts are calculated in relation to the weight of all material in the sheet rather than as a percentage of the total fiber component.

CANADIAN ECOLOGO - Papers that qualify for the Canadian EcoLogo program have undergone extensive analysis and are monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that standards are strictly maintained. The EcoLogo symbol cannot be used with any other papers.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) GUIDELINES - The current American guidelines state that Government printed materials should be on paper containing 30% post-consumer recycled fiber. This amount is calculated as a percentage of total fiber content.

POST-CONSUMER WASTE - Post-consumer waste is defined as finished material that has completed its cycle as a consumer item and has been used by an end-user consumer and then collected and recycled. For example, a newspaper that has been distributed, used and collected qualifies as post-consumer waste. Unsold newspapers are also recycled but do not qualify as post-consumer waste because they were not used by a consumer before being collected for re-use.

ACID OR ALKALINE PAPERS - In the past alum and rosin were used as sizing for most papers to provide a smooth printing surface and improve ink holdout characteristics. The resulting ‘acid’papers deteriorated over time. Today many papers are made with alkaline sizing which gives a neutral or slightly basic pH value. The main benefits of alkaline papers are greatly improved archival qualities, improved brightness and reduced use of fiber.

BLEACHING - The traditional pulp bleaching method used chlorine to change the colour of the pulp from its original beige to white. Dioxide and other harmful barbecues have been greatly reduced by using elemental chlorine-free (ECF) bleaching processes with chlorine dioxide. Some papers are being made from total chlorine-free (TCF) pulps that incorporate oxygen bleaching and other methods.

DE-INKING - De-inking is the process which removes inks, clays, coatings, binders and other contaminants from printed, recycled paper. Modern de-inking methods use mechanical, heat and chemical processes effectively.