Grass-paper & agricultural-waste-paper
by Newprint | December 28, 2018
Grass-paper & agricultural-waste-paper – New recycling paper for brochures!
Only recently, new recycling papers have become available on the market. Initially developed for the packaging market, innovative sorts such as grass or agricultural waste paper are now also available in the form of graphic papers for the production of classic print products such as brochures, catalogs, folders, flyers or business cards. They can be used to underline an environmentally conscious corporate appearance, which is becoming increasingly important for many agencies, commercial and private customers.
Application example: Your image brochure with a grass paper cover. The content communicates the message of your company. But even before your customer opens the brochure, the impression of the new recycled paper conveys your care for the environment.
Interesting look
As the term grass- or agricultural waste paper implies, these papers contain different fibers than conventional paper. And you can see that too, in fact you are supposed to see it! After all, part of the sales strategy is based on activating the eco-conscience of customer: this only works if you immediately see that the paper is “alternative” and ecologically produced. The look & feel of the material will enhance high-quality print products such as brochures, as the surface is interesting and rarely seen.
Disadvantages of conventional recycling paper
When recycled papers enter a new recycling process, things tend to get problematic. As the fibers become shorter and shorter in every cycle, they cannot be recycled well. Therefore, new pulp (fresh fibers) must always be added. Otherwise, the raw material has to be discarded as fibers get too short – which in turn makes the collecting of waste paper an absurdity.
Advantages of new recycling papers
The industry is constantly developing new ideas to obtain fresh fibers (pulp) from alternative sources. Since 2014, for example, The German company Creapapier has been working to replace conventional pulp with grass, or make admixtures. It developed a process to extract a considerable proportion of the required virgin fibers from grass instead of wood. This protects the environment and natural resources! And there are similar efforts elsewhere in the world: for example, an “agricultural waste paper” is already commercially available. As the name implies, it also contains different fibers than conventional paper.
Ecology under scrutiny
How ecological is ecological really? After some thorough research, one finds that the agricultural-waste-paper originates from Gujarat in India, not from domestic production. The alleged eco-paper first begins a journey around half the globe before it is being fed to our machines. Unfortunately, this has a negative impact on the eco-balance.
Unlike the grass-paper: This alternative is mainly produced in German factories. Apparently, it has become so successful that the company Creapapier had to insert an oversized button on their website: “Become a hay supplier”.