Driving New Paper Options

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Paper doesn't have to come from trees. China and India have known this for years, with more than 20% of the paper produced in those countries made from crops like wheat, rice straw and sugar cane bagasse. But in North America, with its abundance of forests, the focus has always been and still remains squarely on wood in pulping and paper making processes.

Canopy is committed to changing this focus so printing and writing grade papers made from agricultural residues become available here too. We are driving the market development of papers using agricultural residue fibres and market support is quickly gaining ground.

We are working with more than 600 book publishers, magazines and newspapers, many of which have committed to supporting the development and use of papers made from agricultural residues. We are also leveraging this demand to encourage industry and government to invest in non-wood pulp mill infrastructure.

HUGE ENVIRONMENTAL PAYOFF

Using agricultural residues like wheat and flax straw to make paper provides significant environmental and social benefits. With more than 50% of the forests logged in Canada ending up in pulp and paper products, diversifying the paper fibre basket to include agricultural residues is a guaranteed way to take some of the pressure off our forest ecosystems. What's more, agricultural residue pulps take less time to cook than wood pulps, requiring less energy, less water and fewer chemicals.

Pulp made from wheat and flax straw wastes have half the ecological footprint of pulp made from wood in the Prairie Provinces.

UNTAPPED RESOURCE IN OUR BACKYARD

Many crops can be used as paper fibres, including kenaf, hemp, bamboo, and cotton, but these crops require land allocated for their growth. An environmentally preferable option is the use of agricultural residues.

North America's vast agricultural heartlands are so far untapped sources of paper fibre. Each year, millions of tons of byproducts from harvest, like wheat waste, go unused while our forests are logged to make more paper. Studies highlight the excellent papermaking qualities of these fibres. For instance, agricultural pulps can be combined with recycled fibre or with wood pulps to make conventional papers like photocopy paper, coated magazine paper, and newsprint as well as very high quality specialty papers.

NEVA MURTHA
Printer, Second Harvest and Magazine Campaigner

604-817-4974