A Green Potential?
Paperboard itself is made from a renewable resource, but converters need to focus on the whole package.
March 2008 by Missy Smith
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If you’ve never heard the word “sustainable,” you probably live on a different planet. The term has been unleashed in full force during the last couple of years, as concern for our environment continues to grow. It especially has had a dominating presence in package printing. As a material that leans toward being environmentally friendly, paperboard has the chance to step up and lead the sustainable front.
The Freedonia Group expects that demand for corrugated and paperboard boxes in the U.S. will rise 2.5 percent annually through 2012 to $39.9 billion, and sales of corrugated and solid fiber boxes will increase 2.7 percent to $28.8 billion. Growth will be supported because of its low shipping costs, and “demand will also be supported by the good environmental profile of corrugated boxes, which will become increasingly advantageous as interest in sustainable packaging continues to rise,” says the report.
The Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) asserts that paperboard already has an environmental advantage. According to its Web site, paperboard is “a sustainable material using specially-raised crop trees, waste products like sawdust and wood chips, and recycled paper/paperboard fibers,” and is recyclable. The PPC also cites paperboard’s physical design, clean production, effective recovery, and waste management as advantages. “Paperboard packaging is a valuable resource considering that the fibers in paperboard packaging can be recycled, and usually are, multiple times,” according to the PPC.
It also comes from forestland, a natural, renewable resource, according to the Abundant Forests Alliance (AFA). The AFA supports sustainable forestry certification programs conducted independently from the industry that grant certification to forestland managed according to strict environmental guidelines and standards. “[Paperboard is] as abundant today as it was a century ago thanks to improving sustainable forestry practices,” explains Rod Lowman, president, AFA. “Additionally, the fibers in paperboard can be recycled, biodegraded, composted, or incinerated to produce energy. The PPC points out that 70 percent of the industry’s raw material needs is met with recovered paper fibers.”
Paperboard itself is made from earth-friendly materials, but the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) would argue that it is only potentially sustainable. “I say potentially, because that resource is only as renewable as its management,” explains Martha Leflar, project manager, SPC. “If we deplete any resource at a faster rate than it is replenished—from crude oil to corn—it is not a sustainable material.” And, though paperboard has sustainability potential, its recovery rate isn’t as high as it could be, according to Leflar. “At end of life, paperboard has many available positive options, it can be recycled, composted, or burned for energy recovery; however, the EPA cites the current paperboard recycling rate at 11.9 percent for 2005,” she explains. “There is much improvement to be made in this area.”
The Freedonia Group expects that demand for corrugated and paperboard boxes in the U.S. will rise 2.5 percent annually through 2012 to $39.9 billion, and sales of corrugated and solid fiber boxes will increase 2.7 percent to $28.8 billion. Growth will be supported because of its low shipping costs, and “demand will also be supported by the good environmental profile of corrugated boxes, which will become increasingly advantageous as interest in sustainable packaging continues to rise,” says the report.
The Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) asserts that paperboard already has an environmental advantage. According to its Web site, paperboard is “a sustainable material using specially-raised crop trees, waste products like sawdust and wood chips, and recycled paper/paperboard fibers,” and is recyclable. The PPC also cites paperboard’s physical design, clean production, effective recovery, and waste management as advantages. “Paperboard packaging is a valuable resource considering that the fibers in paperboard packaging can be recycled, and usually are, multiple times,” according to the PPC.
It also comes from forestland, a natural, renewable resource, according to the Abundant Forests Alliance (AFA). The AFA supports sustainable forestry certification programs conducted independently from the industry that grant certification to forestland managed according to strict environmental guidelines and standards. “[Paperboard is] as abundant today as it was a century ago thanks to improving sustainable forestry practices,” explains Rod Lowman, president, AFA. “Additionally, the fibers in paperboard can be recycled, biodegraded, composted, or incinerated to produce energy. The PPC points out that 70 percent of the industry’s raw material needs is met with recovered paper fibers.”
Paperboard itself is made from earth-friendly materials, but the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) would argue that it is only potentially sustainable. “I say potentially, because that resource is only as renewable as its management,” explains Martha Leflar, project manager, SPC. “If we deplete any resource at a faster rate than it is replenished—from crude oil to corn—it is not a sustainable material.” And, though paperboard has sustainability potential, its recovery rate isn’t as high as it could be, according to Leflar. “At end of life, paperboard has many available positive options, it can be recycled, composted, or burned for energy recovery; however, the EPA cites the current paperboard recycling rate at 11.9 percent for 2005,” she explains. “There is much improvement to be made in this area.”
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