The Paper Cycle
Paper is made from the residual product of trees. The large trunks are used for wood production for, for example, beams and floors and the small branches of the tree are used to make paper.
How long does paper last?
All paper produced in the Netherlands comes from certified forests. This means that they comply with a quality mark to guarantee the sustainability of wood production, often indicated by quality marks such as FSC or PEFC. These quality marks guarantee that the paper comes from sustainably managed forests, where the correct relationship between production and forest conservation is taken into account.
But it is even more common for paper to be made from recycled material. In the Netherlands we recycle approximately 90% of the produced cardboard and paper. And the Dutch paper industry is happy to use this recycled material: no less than 87% of our raw material use is waste paper! Paper can be recycled up to 25 times. Every time paper is recycled, the length of a paper fiber decreases. Until it is finally completely gone. Thanks to improved recycling processes, paper can now be reused almost four times more as in the past, when it could only be recycled 7 to 8 times. So one twig from a tree lasts a long time!
What do we do for the paper cycle?
We actively contribute to the paper cycle. We only use paper with a sustainability quality mark and recycle all our residual paper. Our printing systems are optimized to make the most of every sheet of paper, which means we waste as little paper as possible. We collect the paper that is thrown away in large containers that are collected twice a week for recycling. Of course, we also try to innovate as much as possible in machines and materials to ensure the sustainability of the paper and our production.
