Mineral-Based Papers and Recyclability
By Gail Nickel-Kailing on April 23rd, 2009
Alternative papers can be made from nearly any kind of cellulose and a paper-like substrate can be made from a wide variety of plastics including bonded mineral powder. Today we examine the “end of life” handling of mineral-based substrates, but first a quick look at five sources of the materials used to make alternative papers.
Where Do “Alternative” Papers Come From?
- Agricultural Residues: Husks and straw left in the fields after harvesting of the main crop; for example, sugar cane husk (also called “bagasse”), cereal straws, including barley, oat, wheat, rice, rye.
- Fiber Crops (On-Purpose Cropping): These are crops planted and harvested specifically for their fiber and require dedicated tracts of land and agricultural inputs; for example, hemp, kenaf, jute, and flax.
- Textile and Cordage Wastes: Cotton linters after ginning for textiles, cotton and linen scraps, old rope – these are already being used in specialty and high quality papers, and for currency.
- Wild Plants: Some of the oldest and most beautiful types of paper made and are produced from wild grasses, sisal, and bamboo; primarily on a small scale.
- Natural Stone/Calcium Carbonate/Limestone: Calcium carbonate has been used as a whitener and filler for pulp paper for centuries; Chinese papermakers often added calcium carbonate powder to add heft or weight to tree pulp paper. Today these minerals can be mixed with a variety of binders to produce a film that can be used like paper.
Green Alternatives?
.
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A few examples of tree-free “papers” or substrates are Ultra Green Film by GPA, FiberStone® Paper offered by Natural Source Printing, and Paperocks Paper from Paperocks.
These substrates are made from inorganic mineral powders derived from limestone and calcium carbonate, with a trace amount of non-toxic resin and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) as a binding agent. Generally about 20% of the ingredients for the film/paper is HDPE.
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) has good chemical resistance and is used for packaging many household and industrial chemicals.
The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) introduced an identification system in 1998 that labeled packaging primarily for municipal recycling. HDPE – Code 2 – is used in a wide variety of packaging applications including:
- Milk, water, juice, cosmetic, shampoo, dish and laundry detergent bottles
- Yogurt and margarine tubs
- Cereal box liners
- Grocery, trash and retail bags
Recycled/Recyclable
“Tree-free” paper made of mineral powder and plastic binders including HDPE are either claimed or inferred to be recyclable. Such claims and inferences need to be closely examined.
Can FiberStone® Paper be recycled? According to the manufacturer:
Yes, It can be recycled to make new FiberStone® Paper or other plastic products such as lumber, furniture, or receptacle bins. FiberStone Paper can also be recycled in the building & construction industry, waste treatment, steel manufacturing, farming, and glass making.
Can Paperocks products be recycled? According to the manufacturer:
Paperocks paper can be recycled along with plastics, or simply discarded with ordinary trash, due to its bio-degradable characteristics. Paperocks also claims that their “paper” is photo-degradable, since its principal component is calcium carbonate mixed together with a small portion of NON-toxic plastic and resin. “When left out in the sunlight and heat, it will naturally crack and decompose back into powder form over an 8-12 month period.”
Which Recycling Stream?
Wendy Jedlicka, CPP, author of Packaging Sustainability: Tools, Systems and Strategies for Innovative Package Design and Sustainable Graphic Design: Tools, Systems and Strategies for Innovative Print Design (soon to be available), expresses some concern about exactly how these substrates are to be handled.
“They (manufacturers of FiberStone) do NOT imply [that one should use] the regular paper collection channels. And show (though, oh so subtly) it needs a dedicated collection channel for optimal use (true recycling), or lumped into the building industry waste-stream, or down-cycled.
Though I guarantee on the consumer level, people will confuse it for coated pulp paper where it will infiltrate the waste-stream and act as another contaminate in the paper-collection cycle. Not a great thing.
BTW: This sort of sweeping “it can be recycled” language is a bit of a cop out many manufacturers use. I just wish they’d be upfront with people and say it needs a dedicated recovery channel that doesn’t exist right now.
To Use or Not to Use
I think Wendy says it best from a designer’s perspective:
As a designer I actually like many of the stone/mineral papers out today. I’ve looked at them for several projects, and they offer a great many advantages. Especially when using them to replace PVC. I would never tell anyone it could be recycled without setting the system up to do that.
I would not be using them to replace paper. I’d use them for their unique qualities, not trying to make them do paper things. If you want paper, and all the great systems that go with that, use paper.
Don’t try and make a horse be a lapdog, and don’t try and ride your dog. Both are trainable domestic animals, but each has a place in the grand scheme of things.
4 Responses to “Mineral-Based Papers and Recyclability”
By Wayne Cook on Apr 24, 2009 | Reply
How much HDPE is required to bind these calcium carbonate particles together and give the “paper” some flexibility? If this amount is very small, this “paper” should have the physical properties of concrete. If it is signficant (e.g., 20% or more) it is misrepresentation to say it is photodegradable. HDPE does not degrade under light. It may crack and breakdown into small particles it is still HDPE. The only way to recycle HDPE is to grind it up and either incinerate it or extrude it into a new article. Once again, the “green” label is being used as a marketing tool without scientific basis.
By Billy Jones on Apr 24, 2009 | Reply
Using plastics as paper seems especially troubling and quite risky.
By Pat Berger on Apr 28, 2009 | Reply
The following are direct copies of emails
On 17 Sep 2008, at 01:49, John Shu wrote:
Hi Pat,
No special inks required. When you ready to order a few pallets to
try?
Let me know,
John
Paperocks
On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 5:28 AM, Mercer Color wrote:
I have read you web site.
I like it.
I do think that you should reword some of your items.
No water pollution?
No air pollution?
Easily recyclable? Where
The rock paper is biodegradable when let in sunlight. I now know
that It cannot be used for anything that will hang in a window or
outdoors or it will fall apart.
Thank you
Pat Berger
On 17 Sep 2008, at 14:06, email hidden; JavaScript is required wrote:
Pat,
Thanks for your input. Lets revisit some of your concerns or
comments:
1). No water pollution/Air pollution refers to the comparison
between conventional pulp production vs ours. We dont need copious
amounts of water to filter or clean the debris from our product.
2). Easily recyclable refers to our papers ability to be recycled
through heat whereas the paper will return to its original
limestone matter.
As far as the product falling apart, I have yet to see that. Do
you have any documented issues that have led you to believe a
poster would merely fall apart under sunlight? Under extreme heat
and over a long period of time if it is exposed directly to
sunlight it would show some cracking in the paper, such as if you
were to crack an egg prior to consumption. But falling apart does
not seem to be the accurate description of the decomposition of
Paperocks. Plus most windows in retail outlets such as Starbucks
already have a UV coating so it really doesnt affect Paperocks.
If you have any more information on the product hanging and falling
apart please let me know. Maybe it wasnt printed on Paperocks.
Regards,
John
On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 11:30 AM, Pat Berger
wrote:
John
I made the comment about the biodegradability because I worked
and lived on a farm during the summers at relatives. When egg
shells were left out in the sun for a long time they became
very brittle and if you would just barely touched them they
would fall apart. So with the rock paper if you would just
touch them or a breeze or any kind of disturbance I guessed
that they would just fall apart also.
From: email hidden; JavaScript is required
Date: 17 September 2008 14:33:32 EDT
To: “Pat Berger”
HA! Yeah thats true, but it would have to be a LONG time and under
DIRECT sunlight such as the eggshells. But yes you are right the
paper does turn brittle and like an eggshell. But we have not
experienced any print issues with our paper hanging on the wall or
even near the glass. Probably because of UV glass these days and
the printers sometimes add coating to the top layer of the ink.
Thanks again for your input.
John
By Melanie Turner on May 2, 2009 | Reply
Interesting to see the correspondence from the Paperrocks rep. Since they actually responded to its recyclability that it would crack and turn back into powder over only 8-12 months’ time, it was a very valid question on whether or not you could use the prints in a glass display window. The two points contradict each other, and I don’t believe the rep did a good job of sorting out that discrepancy.
I just wrote a post yesterday on my own blog about tree-free papers, one of which is this mineral-based options. I’m going to write a follow-up today and link to this article so that my readers will know the possible end-life issues that come with this paper.