Water is a primary resource that is a vital part of the paper manufacturing process, needed at several stages (to make both pulp and paper). Given the crucial need to save water, paper manufacturers are working to develop technical solutions that will enable them to control their water consumption and to treat waste water more efficiently.
One of the best ways to conserve water is to buy recycled goods, and to recycle goods when you have finished with them. Recycling a pound of paper, less than the weight of your average newspaper, saves about 3.5 gallons of water. Buying recycled paper products saves water too, as it takes about six gallons of water to produce a dollar worth of paper. (National Geographic, 2014)
Conventional paper-manufacturing processes require 40 m3 to produce one tonne of paper, most of which is a result of manufacturing virgin pulp. By re-using fibres a number of times, manufacturing recycled paper consumes around 24 m3 per tonne – a saving of around 47%.
* Based on Le Bourray
Arjowiggins Graphic has implemented a water management policy that has enabled Arjowiggins Graphic to reduce its water consumption by 15% over the last five years.
Water used to make our recycled papers is re-used up to six times in the manufacture of recycled paper, before being biologically treated at the mill and then discharged into the water stream, in a cleaner condition than when it first entered the mill. In addition to its own management policy, Arjowiggins Graphic also works with independent monitoring bodies, which ensure that water treated in this way is returned to the natural environment without risk to biodiversity or public health.
When it comes to environmental and social responsibility, every act counts, no matter how small. We cannot rely merely on others to make major decisions and grand announcements, that do not always have the expected results.
An industry like ours needs to give itself clear and ambitious targets and implement strategies to achieve them, brick by brick, one step at a time.
At Arjowiggins Graphic, we have been implementing a sustainable development policy for several years that surpasses our customers’ expectations and the regulations in force.
Agnès Roger, Chief Executive of Arjowiggins Graphic