Paper, Environmental Concerns

This paper will deal with several of the environmental issues associated with the use and disposal of printing papers. Printers are asked to use alkaline, recycled, or chlorine-free paper. These products will be described in some detail. The ingredients used to make paper present insignificant health and safety concerns for the printer. The larger issue of disposal of paper for deinking and recycling will be discussed. Stickies, dirt, and contaminants are of major concern to the papermaker using recycled fiber, and the printing and binding process are a major source of those problems. As recycling becomes more a way of life the printing and binding processes may have to change to meet the limitations of the deinking processes.