carbon impacts of paper manufacture literature review study

8/9/2019 Carbon impacts of paper manufacture literature review study

1/18

THE GAIA PARTNERSHIP FINAL REPORT PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL 1

Carbon impacts of paper manufacture literaturereview study final report

Prepared for:The Gaia Partnership

49 Warners Avenue,Bondi Beach, NSW, 2026

Prepared by:Glenn Di-Mauro HayesCentre for Design,RMIT UniversityBuilding 15, Level 3,124 La Trobe Street,Melbourne, 3001

Reviewed by:Simon LockreyCentre for Design,RMIT University


2/18


1. Introduction

The Gaia Partnership has developed a simple and scalable methodology that measures andmanages the often invisible carbon footprint of marketing activity. The CO2counter uniquelycombines the disciplines of marketing science and mathematics to deliver an accurate and

comprehensive analysis of CO2 emissions from all marketing channels.

The Gaia Partnership commissioned the Centre for Design at RMIT University to provide anoverview of life cycle assessment studies (both local and international) focussing on carbonimpacts related to the manufacturing of paper. Detailed research has been carried out onidentifying the key areas pertaining to carbon related impacts in the entire life cycle of paper.The report is intended to be used for both internal and external purposes.

2. Goal

The goal of the study is to identify key findings through a literature review of life cycleassessment studies related to paper manufacturing and the related carbon impacts. The

document will be used to: Provide insight into studies that have been completed on carbon impacts related to

paper manufacturing

Support the existing carbon calculator program with a statement (relating to the studyvalidating the methodology) detailing best practice approach and published academicresearch

Outline significant areas related to carbon impacts in paper manufacture and theoverall life cycle of paper

Provide customers with a better understanding of their footprint through carbonimpact related terminology and assessments

A statement will appear on the Gaia Partnership website relating to the study. The statementwill read as follows:

The methodology and carbon factors used to measure the resulting CO2 calculation in thecommercial printing section of the CO2counter are based on best practice independent andpublished academic research. The carbon factors used for the paper component of thecalculation is also based on a Gaia commissioned review conducted by Centre for DesignRMIT University Melbourne Australia in July 2009. Extracts of the review can studied here(link to review on Gaia site) and have also been published on the RMIT website (link to whereRMIT publish)

2.1 Limitations of this study

The study is intended as a supporting document for use in decision making, and is notintended to be the sole decision driver. The assessment of the options considered will requireconsideration for any issues outside of those mentioned in this report.

2.2 Assessment criteria

The criteria will be based on the principles and guidelines detailed in the life cycleassessment ISO 14040 standard

Key findings and recommendations drawn from each of the LCA studies.

The outcome of the study will be in the form of a written report including:

Key findings of LCA studies (with the intention of sourcing both local and internationalstudies)

Overview of carbon impacts per tonne of paper produced or to the respective unitreported by each individual study

Specific factors that contribute to the carbon impacts Recommendations and points of interest related to the goal of the study


3/18


3. Life Cycle Assessment

LCA is the process of evaluating the potential effects that a product, process or service hason the environment over the entire period of its life cycle. Figure 3-1 illustrates the life cyclesystem concept of natural resources and energy entering the system with products, wasteand emissions leaving the system.

Figure 3-1: Life cycle system concept

The International Standards Organisation (ISO) has defined LCA as:

[A] Compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impactsof a product system throughout its lifecycle (ISO 14040:2006(E) pp.2).

The technical framework for LCA consists of four components, each having a very importantrole in the assessment. They are interrelated throughout the entire assessment and inaccordance with the current terminology of the International Standards Organisation (ISO).

The components are goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment andinterpretation as illustrated in Figure 3-2.

Figure 3-2: The framework for LCA from the International Standard (ISO 14040:2006(E))


4/18


3.1 LCA guidelines in practice

Paper is generally used as a material for writing, printing and also as a packaging form. TheNational Packaging Covenant has developed a set of guidelines designed to providecompanies with assistance in evaluating the environmental packaging for their existing or newpackaging formats. The Environmental Code of Practice for Packaging (ECoPP) promotes

excellence in packaging as defined by two fundamentally and equally important principles: Packaging should be designed to have a minimum net impact on the environment

(with emphasis on waste, energy, water and emissions)

The packaging must fully preserve the integrity of the product it contains

The code and guidelines capture all aspects of the supply chain that relate to environmentalimpacts, rather than focusing on just one specific area (eg. waste), and applies to thepackaging of all products manufactured or consumed in Australia. The Code is an integralpart of the National Packaging Covenant but the Code and guidelines can also be used toassist organisations (that are non-signatories to the Covenant) to minimise the environmentalimpacts of all the packaging they use (NPC, 2005). It is important to recognise that theseguidelines insist on not only waste minimisation, but recognition of other factors thatcontribute to the impacts generated by the entire life cycle of a certain material.

4. The paper life cycle

Paper comprises of a mat of organic fibres bonded together with smaller quantities of fillers,additives and coatings. The fibre source is usually trees, which is then divided into softwoodsand hardwoods. In Australia, almost two thirds of virgin fibre input is from softwoods andmostly comprises of plantation-grown radiata pine. Hardwoods are chiefly eucalypts obtainedfrom native forests. These virgin fibre sources provide about half of the fibre input to paperproducts, with the other half being recycled fibre.

Solid wood can be turned into pulp by one of three groups of processes:1. Chemical pulping involves dissolving the lignin bonding the fibres together by cooking

the woodchips in chemicals, leaving primarily the fibres. Chemicals are recovered byburning the residual liquor of lignin and chemicals. Chemical pulp is brown and isusually bleached prior to paper making. The yield is typically 45-55% of the drywoodchip weight

2. Mechanical pulping involves grinding down the wood to its constituent fibres using alarge amount of electrical energy. The yield is much higher (90-96%) as only water-soluble material in the wood is removed.

3. Semi-chemical and chemi-mechanical pulping are intermediate technologies whichuse chemical, mechanical and heat energy in various proportions. These processesremove about half of the lignin in the wood and obtain 60-90% of the original drymass as pulp.

Some of the organic wastes such as dust and reject chips may be burned for energy recovery

in all these technologies.

In recycling, waste paper is mixed in with water and the slurry product is cleaned andoccasionally de-inked. This process generally requires less energy than virgin fibre pulpingbut does produce significant amounts of waste sludge that comprises mainly of fillers anddegraded fibre. (Picken 1996)

Paper making is similar for both virgin and recycled fibre. The pulp is diluted to a watery stockto which a range of non-fibrous materials, mainly clays and calcium carbonate which act asfillers, is added. The furnish that results from this process, is fed into a paper machine whichforms the sheet through of a series of rollers and presses, and dries it with large amounts ofheat energy.

Most paper undergoes further processing before sale as a consumer product. Cutting,coating, folding and gluing are undertaken by paper converting companies, and printing isalso required on many paper products.


5/18


Table 1 aims to provide clear definitions for some of the common terms for the various stagesof paper production listed above:

Term Definition

Pulping Converting virgin organic material into pulp

Recycling Converting recovered waste paper into pulp

Paper making Converting pulp into paper

Paper manufacturing Pulping, recycling and paper makingPaper converting Cutting, gluing, coating, etc of paper to make products

Paper processing Paper converting, printing and other industrial processing of paperto make paper products

Paper production Paper manufacturing and processing all industrial processesinvolved in producing paper products ready for consumption

Table 1: Paper manufacturing definitions

(Picken 1996)

5. Findings from studies

5.1 Waste management options to reduce greenhouse gas emissionsfrom paper in Australia (2002)

J. G. Pickin, S. T. S. Yuen and H. Hennings

This paper provides an update on the Pickin (1996) life cycle greenhouse gas emission(GGE) assessment of paper. The aims of the study were to provide a detailed investigation oftotal GGEs from the paper cycle in Australia, capturing all aspects from the forest through tolandfill, and to assess the effectiveness of a selection of waste management options toreduce GGEs from paper.

The GGEs from the paper production and consumption system are of two clearly definedorigins:

(i) fossil fuel use during harvesting, manufacturing and transport and(ii) uptake and emission of carbon-bearing gases during growth and decay of organic

material used in paper production (the organic material cycle).

In this study, these two major sources of GGEs were divided into eight major emissioncategories based on the paper lifecycle, as follows:

1. fossil fuel use in material acquisition and transport;2. fossil carbon use in pulping and recycling;3. fossil fuel use in paper making;4. fossil fuel use in processing and commerce;5. methane from land filled waste paper;6. methane and nitrous oxide from other degradation processes;7. emissions offset by energy recovery from waste paper; and8. net carbon dioxide balance in the organic material cycle (after carbon accounted for incategories 57 has been deducted).

The analyses aimed to assess the relative importance of GGEs in these key categories.

The calculation of emissions from paper production in Australia during 1999/2000 requireddata on material flows in that particular year for each of the system elements, most of whichwere estimated from paper production statistics. However, this is not an accurate method for

estimating emissions from decaying organic material, since degradation processes are drawnout over years or decades and therefore the waste generated during 1999/2000 is not thematerial actually decaying in that year. Therefore, the emissions from harvest residue decayand of land filled waste paper, were estimated on the basis of historical production data andan assumed exponential decay rate.


6/18


Analysis 1: Australian greenhouse gas emissions from paper 1999/2000

The GGEs generated by paper in Australia during 1999/2000 were calculated at about12.1 Mt of CO2 equivalent units. CH4 (methane) represented 57% (6.90 Mt) of the total netemissions and the rest (5.20 Mt) was almost all CO2 (see Figure 5-1 for breakdown of GGEs).

Figure 5-1: Greenhouse gas emissions by emission category (kt CO2 eq.)

Analysis 2: emissions from a tonne of paper in a range of scenarios

Figure 5-2 demonstrates the effect of the first waste management option (a)recycling paperat different rates for one tonne of paper. GGEs fall from 6.5 tonne of CO2 equivalent pertonne of paper with no recycling, to 4.4 tonne of CO2 equivalent per tonne with a recycling

rate of 60%.

Figure 5-2: Greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of paper with different recycling rates

Figure 5-3 gives GGEs in the eight emission categories listed on the previous page. Thisshows that higher recycling rates cause changes in five of the categories but the mostsignificant effect seen is a large decrease in CH4 (methane) emissions from landfills due to alower input of paper.


7/18


Figure 5-3: Greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of paper with different recycling rates forspecific categories

The results of the analyses reveal the significance of landfills as sources of GGEs from paperand the importance of controlling these emissions in post-consumer waste management. Thepulp and paper industry's efforts to properly curtail GGEs have focused on productionprocesses (Jones, 1995) but improvements in recycling rates in recent years have likelyprovided greater advantages, mainly through directing waste paper away from landfills.

Table 2 summarises some of the waste management options for reducing GGEs across thepaper life cycle. It lists their potential for reducing GGEs, the time frame over which theydeliver benefits (dependent on whether they affect CH4 or CO2 emissions) and the relevantorganisations likely to initiate change.

Waste management

option

Potential for reducing

GGEs

Time frame over

which benefit occurs

Management

organisation

Increase recycling High Short term Government, pulp

and paper industry

Incinerate waste

paper with energy

recovery

Very high Short & long term Government, energy

industry

Recover more landfill

gas

High Short & long term Government, energy

industry

Compost waste

paper

High Short term Government,

particularly local

Table 2: Waste management options for reducing GGEs from paper


8/18


5.2 The Contribution of the Paper Cycle to global warming (1999)

S.Subak & A.Craighill

This study primarily focussed on assessing greenhouse gases related to the entire life cycleof the paper industry, capturing fibre production, manufacturing of paper, transport and

disposal from a global perspective. A range of studies were selected with an emphasis placedon the following issues:

1. Is the paper industry sustainable in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions terms?2. Does the maintaining of commercial forests and plantations sufficiently offset

emissions related to the manufacture of paper, transport of pulp and paper anddisposal in landfills?

The study found that combustion of the fossil fuel to produce pulp and paper (which releasescarbon dioxide) appears to be the greatest source of GHG emissions in the paper cycle. Thissource can be estimated with the highest precision of all the paper cycle sources becausefuel consumed by the pulp and paper industry is published for most countries in the(OECD/IEA 1993) (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development/InternationalEnergy Agency) international energy compendia. Almost three quarters of the CO2 emissions

from energy use in the paper industry originate in just six regions the USA, China,Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Japan, Canada and Germany, according to theOECD/IEA data. The energy consumption figures published by the OECD/IEA are consideredto be the most accurate for the GHG emissions related activity data, with an accepted rangeof 5-10% in the national emissions estimates (Von Hippel et al 1993).

Carbon dioxide emissions from energy use in the paper industry were estimated by applyingthe emissions factors for the different fuel types specific to each country (Von Hippel et al1993) to the energy consumption data from the (OECD/IEA 1993). Carbon dioxide emissionsfrom wood fuels were not included in the energy related estimates as to avoid doublecounting. Wood waste makes up a significant proportion of the energy used by the pulp andpaper industry, particularly in the Scandinavian region (OECD/IEA, 1993; Cooper andZetterburg, 1994). This particular characteristic is a factor behind the industrys green image

in many countries. Although CO2 is emitted when wood is burned, this flux is temporary if treestands are replaced. Tree stands are enclosed or open platforms used by hunters to placethemselves at an elevated height above surrounding terrain. Emissions from wood wasteshould only be considered a net flux if this fuel source results in depletion of forest land.

It was estimated (using the 1991 fossil fuel consumption data), that the paper industrysenergy use contributed almost 290 Mt (million tonnes) of CO2 emissions (79 MT carbon), orabout 1.3% of annual CO2 emissions from total global fossil fuel consumption. This estimateof CO2 emissions from the industry is consistent with OECDs aggregate estimate of globalemissions from this industry, differing by only 10%. While paper manufacturing is one of thelargest industrial GHG emitters, it releases substantially less than the steel industry and thechemicals industry, which is believed to account for 4.6% and 5.9% of global CO2 emissionsrespectively (IEA/OECD, 1991). Pulp and paper accounts for over 4% of estimated global

energy consumption but the industrys overall carbon intensity is relatively low because itfulfils a large amount of its energy requirement from the burning of wood waste.

This analysis concluded that the pulp and paper industry is a significant emitter of GHG.While plantations maintained to supply fibre (for pulp production) store larger amounts ofcarbon on land that was not previously forested, the carbon storage is not sufficient enough tooffset the greater emissions from fossil fuel use in manufacture and from paper disposed inlandfills. Production, consumption and disposal of paper products is estimated to contribute anet addition of about 469 million tonnes in CO2 equivalent units each year (~130MT carbon),as indicated in Table 3.


9/18


Sources Annual gasemissions(MT)

CO2equivalents(MT)

CO2-Cequivalents(MT)

Certainty

Energy Use (CO2) 290 290 79 High

Energy extraction(CH4)

1 29 8 Medium

Energy Userecycling (CO2)

4 4 1 Medium-low

Transport (CO2) 29 29 8 Medium-low

Landfills (CH4) 12 278 76 Medium

Original forestconversion

55 55 15 Low-Medium

Total sources 685 187

Sinks

Waste energyrecovery fromincineration &landfills (CO2)

-3 -3 -1 Medium

Regrowth forests(CO2) 0 0 0 Low

Plantations (CO2) -213 -213 -58 Low-Medium

Total sinks -216 -216 -59

Net emissions flux 469 128

Table 3: Annual emissions of GHG from the global paper cycle

Another conclusion of the study was that a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is possibleat all stages of the paper cycle. The CO2 intensity of pulp and paper manufacturing could bereduced by fuel switching and also by efficiency improvements. While a high percentage ofnatural gas is used by Canada and the UK as their fuel use in the paper industry, coal is usedheavily in many other regions. Switching from coal to natural gas and relying further on wood

waste for fuel could reduce carbon intensity, as well as SO2 emissions and other pollutants.The Swedish paper industry is likely to be a net zero emitter or a CO2 sink, in part becausefossil fuel related emissions are so low for their region.

Landfill sites have also been found to be nearly as great a source of GHG emissions as theenergy use in manufacturing. Although the pulp and paper industry has less control over thefinal fate of paper, advocating various alternative waste disposal practices including recycling,incineration and composting would undoubtedly serve to help reduce emissions fromdisposal.

5.3 Reducing climate change gas emissions by cutting out stages inthe life cycle of office paper (2007)

Thomas A.M. Counsell and Julian M. Allwood

This study considered how to reduce emissions from cut-size office paper by circumventingvarious stages in its life cycle. The options considered were:

incineration, which cuts out landfill;

localisation, which cuts out transport;

annual fibre, which cuts out forestry and reduces pulping;

fibre recycling, which cuts out landfill, forestry and pulping;

un-printing, which cuts out all stages except printing;

electronic paper, which cuts out all stages.

A typical energy demand for each stage in the life of office paper was drawn from existingliterature. The energy for producing the chemicals used in pulping, in forestry, in transport andin printing has been included.It is important to note that translating the energy demand into


10/18


climate change gas emissions depends on both the mix of fuel used, and any non-energyrelated greenhouse gas emissions. The typical set of emissions drawn on from existingliterature and is shown in Table 4.

Energy demand (GJ/t) Climate changeimpact (t CO2 t)

Forestry 2 0.1

Pulping 25 0.3

Paper making 15 1

Printing 2 0.1

Landfill 1 4.7

Total 44 6.3

(of which transport)


11/18


avoided. Cutting out landfill through introduction of incineration, is likely to reduce climatechange gas emissions from the typical office paper life cycle by 4874% since landfill is thestage where the largest climate change gas emissions will occur. Cutting out transport,through localisation, or cutting out forestry and some pulping through the use of annual fibreswould have little effect on climate change gas emissions as those stages in the life of officepaper emit little net CO2eq. Taking out pulping as well as landfill, through recycling, provideslittle extra reduction in climate change gas emissions as most of the emissions from pulping

are from carbon-neutral fuels.

Cutting out paper-making along with landfill, forestry and pulping, through an un-printingprocess, would see a reduction in climate change gas emissions by 95% because paper-making is quite energy intensive and generally wont use carbon neutral fuels to the sameextent as pulping. Cutting out the paper manufacturing altogether and replacing it with anelectronic equivalent, could reduce climate change gas emissions by 85%.

5.4 Application of life cycle assessment to the Portuguese pulp andpaper industry (2002)

E. Lopes, A. Dias, L. Arroja, I. Capela, F. Pereira.

In this paper, the LCA methodology was applied to Portuguese printing and writing paper inorder to compare the environmental impact of two kinds of fuel use (heavy fuel oil and naturalgas) in the paper and pulp production processes. The purpose of the study was to identifyand assess the environmental impacts associated with the production, use and final disposalof printing and writing paper produced in Portugal from Eucalyptus globulus kraftpulp andconsumed in Portugal.

The two main reasons for conducting the study were:1. to determine the contribution of different groups of processes to the printing and

writing paper life cycle environmental impact2. to compare the potential environmental impacts of two different fossil fuel sources

used in the eucalyptus pulp production process

The unit under investigation in this study was defined as one tonne of white printing andwriting paper, with a standard weight of 80 gm

2produced from the Portuguese Eucalyptus

globulus kraft pulp and consumed in Portugal. The final disposal alternatives (current for thetime in Portugal) for printing and writing waste paper were landfilling (84%), recycling (11%),and composting (5%).

The inventory results consisted of a very detailed list of parameters, but for this paper only theparameters commonly discussed from an environmental perspective were analysed, and theywere:

renewable energy consumption,

non-renewable energy consumption,

non-renewable carbon dioxide (CO2),

nitrogen oxides (NOx),

sulphur dioxide (SO2),

chemical oxygen demand (COD) and

adsorbable organic halogens (AOX).

Figure 6 shows the breakdown of air emissions at the different stages of the paper life cycle,for the actual scenario and for the natural gas scenario.


12/18


Figure 5-4: Inventory results for air emissions

The impact category of major significance was global warming, containing the non-renewablecarbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20) parameters.

The results of the impact assessment phase for the actual scenario and for the natural gasscenario are shown in Figure 7. The global warming results can be seen in the two columnslabelled GW. Most of the global warming potential results from the final disposal of printingand writing waste paper. This important contribution is mainly originated by methane (CH4)emissions that occur during waste paper land filling. Although the systems total CO2emissions are eight (natural gas scenario) to fifteen (heavy fuel oil scenario) times greaterthan total CH4 emissions, the latter assumes a more important role in this impact categorysince its global warming potential is 24.5 times greater than that of CO

2. The second most

important contributor to this potential impact is on-site energy production in paper production,exclusively due to CO2 emissions. The replacement of heavy fuel oil by natural gas will see areduction in the systems global warming potential of about 20% as a result of the decreasedCO2 emissions in the natural gas scenario as explained in the interpretation of the inventoryanalysis results.

Figure 5-5: Impact assessment results

The outcomes from the study showed that the paper production (for printing and writing) is themost important contributor to non-renewable CO2 emissions due to the on-site energy


13/18


production, which does not correspond however to a major contribution to the overall globalwarming potential. In Portugal this impact category is dominated by CH4 emissions fromwaste paper land filling.

The final disposal stage assumes a prominent role in the global warming category as a resultof the CH4 emissions in land filling. Interestingly, the replacement of heavy fuel oil by naturalgas in the eucalyptus pulp and paper production processes appears to be environmentally

positive, provided that a cogeneration unit is installed to produce energy in the paper makingprocess. This process (in its current form a net energy consumer) becomes an exporter to theelectricity grid, along with the corresponding avoided emissions. This change significantlyreduces the total CO2 emissions leading to a smaller potential contribution from the globalsystem to global warming (along with other impact categories). Changing the fuel source tonatural gas also sees a decrease of more than 45% in non-renewable resource depletion.

5.5 Eco-Footprint calculators: Technical Background Paper (2005)

EPA Victoria

Ecological footprints (EFs) have most commonly been applied to cities, regions andcountries, and have been calculated for the total consumption impacts of those areas, whichcan be compared to that regions available resources. As part of the technical backgroundpaper by EPA Victoria highlighting the methodology and key aspects of Eco-footprintcalculators, a section on paper production was included (EPA 2005).

Data was collected for copy papers, as they are a significant contributor in the schools andoffice spreadsheets. Copy paper production was modelled using virgin and recycled fibres.The virgin paper was assumed to be derived from Australian hardwood, while recycled paperwas produced from paper collected from office waste paper collections.

Table 6 details the greenhouse footprint for the two paper types and the impact of a typicalimport of a kilogram of paper over 15,000 km (assumed distance form Europe). The

importation is important, as many of the recycled fibre papers are from Europe.

kg CO2/kg paper produced

Virgin paper 2.727

Recycled paper 1.781

Shipping paper from Europe 0.074

Table 6: Footprint for virgin and recycled fibre and international shipping

This paper concluded that the environmental impacts that are associated with manufacturingoffice paper result from:

Using hazardous chemicals

Emission to air and water from pulp and paper mills

Energy and water consumption when pulp and paper is produced

The manufacture, use and disposal of paper products can result in a significant burden beingplaced on the environment. The main environmental impacts of a paper product will generallyoccur in the following phases of the products life cycle:

1. Managing and harvesting of the forest2. Producing pulp and paper3. processing the paper product as waste and4. processing production waste

Finally, it was concluded that sustainable forestry is essential if the resources of forests are to

be exploited in the long term. It is important that forestry is operated in a way that minimisesthe disturbance of natural eco-systems and conserves the biodiversity of forests (EPA 2005).


14/18


5.6 Extended Environmental Benefits of Recycling (2009)

Centre for Design RMIT University

The aim of this study was to provide an objective and transparent evaluation of theenvironmental benefits and impacts of recycling waste materials from residential, commercial

& industrial (C&I) and construction & demolition (C&D) sources in NSW. In addition, results ofthe study were to be deployed in a recycling calculator to be readily used by industry, councilsand other businesses EEBR (2009).

The report considered the recycling benefits and impacts of 21 materials by commonly usedrecycling pathways. For most of the materials, two collection pathways were considered:

i) kerbside collection of co-mingled waste which must be sorted prior to transfer tothe material reprocessor, and

ii) direct transfer of segregated wastes from C&I, C&D sources to the materialreprocessor.

The fibre based substrates selected for analysis were:

Paper & board

Newsprint

Office paper

Liquid paper board

Data was collected from various studies as well as communication with industry stakeholders,in both Australia and Europe depending on the relevance and integrity of the data sets. Paperand board materials generated positive net recycling benefits across most indicators (with theexception of liquid paper board which has large reprocessing impacts). The other papers allappeared to generate benefits across most of the indicators, however results were found tobe highly dependant upon assumptions made regarding paper degradation in landfill.

Greenhouse Gases

-0.30

0.63

1.04

0.740.99

0.600.67

-0.40-0.200.000.200.400.600.801.001.20

Cardbo

ard/paper

packaging

Newsprint/magazine

s

Liquidpaperboard

OfficePaper

tonnesCO2epertonnerecycled

Kerbside

C&I,C&D

Figure 5-6: Average net benefit of recycling for one tonne of paper and board waste

A core assumption underpinning greenhouse gas results for organic materials was thetreatment of organic waste in landfill. The net benefit of recycling or composting organic wastewas partially determined by the avoided impacts associated with sending organic waste tolandfill. Therefore, the net benefits of recycling increase if landfill processes are highlygreenhouse intensive and will be reduced if landfill processes generate few greenhouse

emissions or if landfills actually absorb organic carbon.

In this study, a baseline assumption was made that carbon in organic material that isdeposited in landfill and not degraded, was sequestered in the landfill. This assumption isconsistent with the Department of Climate Change (2007), but may not be universally


15/18


acknowledged as a fact. To test this assumption, a sensitivity study was undertaken thattested two alternative landfill scenarios:

Base case (no sequestration): Landfill generates greenhouse gasses as described byDepartment of Climate Change (2007), however carbon is not permanentlysequestered and is released as biogenic CO2.

US EPA (2006): Rather than using Department of Climate Change assumptions for

emissions from landfill, assumptions were used from the widely acknowleged studySolid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases A Life Cycle Assessment ofEmissions and sinks (US EPA 2006). This study assumes a portion of carbon issequestered

Greenhouse Gases

0.60

0.99

-0.30

0.74

1.35

0.25 0.32

1.34

1.65

0.19

1.48

2.27

0.51 0.58

-0.54-0.42

-0.32

2.59

0.07

0.57

-0.08

-1.00

-0.50

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

Paper &

board

Newsprint LPB Off ice paper Timber

pallets

Compost -

Mixed food

and garden

Compost -

Garden only

tonnesCO2epertonne

recycled

Base case

Base case (no sequestration)

US EPA (2006)

Figure 5-7: Sensitivity of organic materials to changes in landfill assumptions.

Results show the clear increase in the net benefits of recycling, from a greenhouse gasesemission perspective, if carbon is not assumed to be sequestered in landfill (base case withno sequestration). This is because landfill impacts are significantly increased under thisscenario, increasing the net benefit of recycling which avoids landfill.

6. Summary of findings

Below is a summary of findings from each of the studies, focusing on the main sources ofgreenhouse gas emissions for the paper life cycle.

Picken et al (2002)

The result of the analyses completed in this study showed the significance of landfills assources of GGEs from paper and the importance of controlling these emissions in postconsumer waste management. The focus had been on production processes in the attempt tocurtail GGEs but improvements in recycling rates in recent years have provided greateradvantages, mainly through directing waste paper away from landfills. From the emissioncategories identified, the major sources across the paper life cycle were methane fromlandfilled waste paper (albeit reduced with increased recycling), fossil fuel use in paper

making and fossil carbon use in pulping and recycling (again reduced with increasing therecycling rate)


16/18


The potential for reducing GGEs is very high when incinerating waste paper with energyrecovery, with the likelihood also being high for increased recycling overall, higher landfill gasrecovery and composting of waste paper.

The GGEs generated by paper in Australia during 1999/2000 were calculated at about12.1 Mt of CO2 equivalent units. CH4 (methane) represented 57% of the total net emissionswith the remaining almost all CO2 (carbon dioxide).

Subak & Craighill (1999)

This analysis identified the pulp and paper industry is a significant emitter of GHG. The largecarbon storage (through plantations) maintained to supply fibre is not sufficient enough tooffset the greater emissions from fossil fuel use in manufacturing and from paper disposed inlandfills. Another conclusion of the study was that a reduction in green house gas emissionsis possible at all stages of the paper cycle. The CO2 intensity of pulp and papermanufacturing could be reduced by fuel switching and also by efficiency improvements.Switching from coal to natural gas and relying further on wood waste for fuel could reducecarbon intensity (along with SO2 emissions and other pollutants). Landfill sites have beenfound to be nearly as great a source of GHG emissions as the energy used in manufacturing.

It was estimated that the paper industrys energy use contributed almost 290 million tonnes ofCO2 emissions or about 1.3% of annual CO2 emissions from total global fossil fuelconsumption.

Counsell & Allwood (2007)

Cutting back or taking out stages in the life cycle of cut-size office paper (depending on whichsteps are avoided) is likely to reduce climate change gas emissions per tonne between 1%and 95%. The largest greenhouse gas emission by far for the paper life cycle occurs duringlandfill (see Table 2).

Cutting out landfill through introduction of incineration, is likely to reduce climate change gasemissions from the typical office paper life cycle by 4874%. Looking at reducing the impactsof transport, through localisation, or cutting out forestry and some pulping through the use ofannual fibres would have little effect on climate change gas emissions as those stages in thelife of office paper emit little net CO2eq. Cutting down on pulping as well as landfill, throughrecycling, provides little extra reduction in climate change gas emissions as most of theemissions from pulping are from carbon-neutral fuels.

Cutting out paper-making along with landfill, forestry and pulping, through an un-printingprocess, would reduce climate change gas emissions by 95% because paper-making is quiteenergy intensive and generally will not use carbon neutral fuels to the same extent as pulping.Cutting out paper altogether and replacing it with an electronic equivalent, could reduceclimate change gas emissions by 85%.

Lopes et al (2002)

Findings from this study showed that most of the global warming potential across the entirelife cycle of paper resulted from the final disposal of printing and writing waste paper.Methane emissions that occur during the land filling of waste paper has been identified as themain contributor. The second most important contributor to the potential impact is on-siteenergy production in paper production, almost entirely due to carbon dioxide emissions.The final disposal stage assumes a predominant role in global warming and photochemicaloxidant formation impact categories, as a result of the CH4 emissions in land filling. Replacingfuel oil with natural gas would also see a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

EPA technical paper (2005)

This technical background paper found that the environmental impacts associated withmanufacturing office paper results from energy and water consumption when the pulp/paperis produced, the use of hazardous chemicals and emissions to air and water from pulp andpaper mills.


17/18


The footprint for imported virgin paper was found to be 2.73 kilograms of carbon dioxide forevery kilogram of paper produced, while the value for the imported recycled paper was 1.78kilograms of carbon dioxide for every kilogram of paper produced.

The manufacture, use and disposal of paper products can result in a significant burden beingplaced on the environment, the impacts generally occur during forest management andharvesting, pulp and paper production, processing the paper product as waste and

processing the production waste.

Centre for Design RMIT University (2009)

This report on the extended environmental benefits of recycling for the Department ofEnvironment and Climate Change found that paper and board materials generated positivenet recycling benefits across most indicators (with the exception of liquid paper board whichhas large reprocessing impacts). The other papers all appeared to generate benefits acrossmost of the indicators, however results were found to be highly dependant upon assumptionsmade regarding paper degradation in landfill.

A core assumption underpinning greenhouse gas results for organic materials was thetreatment of organic waste in landfill. It was found that the net benefits of recycling increase if

landfill processes are highly greenhouse intensive and will be reduced if landfill processesgenerate few greenhouse emissions or if landfills actually absorb organic carbon.

a baseline assumption was made that carbon in organic material that is deposited in landfilland not degraded, was sequestered in the landfill. The sensitivity analysis showed a clearincrease in the net benefits of recycling, from a greenhouse gases emission perspective, ifcarbon is not assumed to be sequestered in landfill.

7. References

Ahmadi, A., Williamson, B., Theis T., and Powers, S. (2003), Life-cycle inventory of

toner produced for xerographic processes, Journal of Cleaner Production 11 (2003)(5), pp. 573582.

EEBR (2009), Extended Environmental Benefits of Recycling Report, Centre forDesign RMIT University, report to Sustainability Divisions Program, Department ofEnvironment and Climate Change (DECC), Melbourne, Australia.

Counsell, T., A., M., & Allwood, J., M. (2007), Reducing climate change gasemissions by cutting out stages in the life cycle of office paper, ProductionProcesses Group, Institute for Manufacturing, Department of Engineering,Cambridge, United Kingdom.

EIPPCB, (2001) Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in the Pulp andPaper Industry. European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau,Seville, Spain.

EPA Victoria (2005), EPA ecological footprint calculators: technical backgroundpaper, publication 972, February 2005, Melbourne, Australia.

IEA/OECD (1991), Energy Efficiency and the environment, International EnergyAgency/ Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris.

IPPC (2001), Technical Summary: Climate Change 2001: Scientific Basis.

Jones, B.R., (1995). The future of recycling wastepaper in Australia - economic andenvironmental implications. Proceedings of Outlook 95 Conference, Canberra.ABARE, Canberra, pp. 401407.


18/18

Lopes, E., Dias, A., Arroja, L., Capela, I., Pereira, F. (2002), Department ofEnvironment and Planning, University of Aveiro, Portugal.

NCASI (2004), Critical Review of Forest Products Decomposition in Municipal SolidWaste Landfills. Technical Bulletin No. 0872. National Council for Air and Stream

Improvement, Research Triangle Park, NC; 2004.

NPC (2005), Environmental Code of Practice for Packaging, National PackagingCovenant, Melbourne, Australia.

OECD/IEA (1993), World Energy Balances, Organisation of Economic Co-operationand Development/International Energy Agency, Paris.

Paper Task Force, (1995), Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing andUsing Environmentally Preferable Paper. U.S. Environmental Defence Fund

Paper Task Force (2002), Update and Corrections to the Paper Task Force Report.

U.S. Environmental Defence Fund

Pickin, J. G., Yuen, S., T., S., Hennings, H. (2002), Waste management options toreduce greenhouse gas emissions from paper in Australia, Department of Civil andEnvironmental engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia

Pickin, J.G., (1996), Paper and the greenhouse effect: a life-cycle study. HonoursThesis. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Melbourne,Parkville, Australia

Subak, S., Craighill, A., (1999), The contribution of the Paper Cycle to GlobalWarming, School of environmental sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

US EPA, (2002) Solid waste management and greenhouse gases: a life-cycleassessment of emissions and sinks (2nd ed.), US Environment Protection Agency.

Von Hippel, D., Raskin, P., Subak, S., Stavisky, D., (1993), Estimating greenhousegas emissions form energy: two approaches compared, Energy Policy Journal(March 1993), pp 691-702.

carbon impacts of paper manufacture literature review study

Documents