Take paper out of the rock: the paper that will save the forests

An Australian company offers paper products made of limestone waste. This initiative saves water, carbon emissions and especially trees

Take paper out of the rock: the paper that will save the forests

Tu B'Shvat has already passed and with it a variety of tree planting events that have taken place across the country. Events that have somewhat forgotten us the fact that every day we meet the trees in their most recognizable and processed way - paper. However, thousands of years ago our ancestors proved that trees are not needed to Writing, as you can see in the many stone-laden stone tablets in ancient languages ​​that have survived to date, an Australian company is now restoring its ornament, offering for sale from stone-edged companies to reduce its environmental damage to the paper industry today.

Australian developers Kevin Garcia and John Tse have decided to find a greener alternative to the paper made of wood. After a year of fruitless exploration, the two encountered an unusual product during a Taiwan vacation: a paper-made paper used for food packaging. The two traveled to the factory where the unique paper was produced, impressed, hired the Taiwanese manufacturer and started developing stone paper companies.

The company they founded, Karst Stone Paper, started in 2017. That year, the company produced 5,000 companies. Two years later, the company already sold 70,000 items to customers from 81 countries around the world. Notebook pages are reminiscent of wood-made look and feel, and are recyclable, water-resistant and tear-resistant.

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A forest devours resources

Wood paper production has a significant ecological footprint. "The process requires very large amounts of energy and water," says Prof. Ofira Eilon of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management at the University of Haifa and director of environmental affairs at the Samuel Neaman Institute. "Water used in the process should also be treated, and if this does not happen, an infection may result." She said that while the trees from which the paper is produced were mostly planted and cultivated specifically for this purpose, it is undoubtedly a wasteful process. "Ultimately, the tree invests more resources than it gets from it: whether it's water, or fertilizers and pesticides. In a net calculation, it's a forest that needs resources," she says.

According to Elon, recycled paper is also free of environmental damage. "While we save the landfill of a resource as waste in the land, energy is used in the recycling process to collect the paper and transport it to the recycling plant. ", She says.

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Limestone and synthetic resin

The raw material from which Karst's paper is produced is limestone debris from construction sites and other industrial processes. The limestone is washed and ground into a fine powder, mixed with a bit of synthetic resin that connects the material together. The mixture is divided into small pieces, heated and inserted into large presses, which flatten them and give them the desired shape and thickness.

The company claims that the company's paper production process is very economical in water. According to them, in 2019, only 540 large trees, 83,100 liters of water and 25,500 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions were saved as a result of the company's operations. According to their data, in the process of making paper from stone, about 67 percent less carbon dioxide is emitted than in the production of wood paper.

Karst offers for sale from various types of companies, prices ranging from $ 25-12, as well as other products such as drawing blocks. The products can be purchased on the company's website, and are also sold in about 100 different stores in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

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Paper analysis is required

Elon emphasizes that, as with any product that presents itself as green, a thorough examination is required to verify that the data provided by the company on the environmental impact of its products are indeed reliable. "For a comparison of alternatives, you have to perform a life-cycle analysis," she says. In such an analysis, the environmental impact of all stages of the product's life is calculated: from the manufacturing process, through its distribution and use, to the waste it needs to be treated. "Such an analysis, which takes into account both inputs and emissions, should be done by an objective factor," Elon concludes.

The article was prepared by "Angle - Science and Environment News Agency"