feature sustainability
Navigating towel and tissue sustainability In this era of rising concerns about global environmental challenges such as ocean plastics, greenhouse gases, deforestation, and more, there is no shortage of voices calling for action. The challenge for all businesses is determining which voices to listen to.
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ompanies frequently become either paralysed by the complexity and do nothing, or try to do everything and accomplish very little. Leading distributors, cleaning/hygiene companies, and in-house service providers often face these same challenges when trying to choose the most sustainable paper products for their washroom operations. Here’s the great news: You can take immediate steps that promise meaningful sustainability impacts, without compromising the satisfaction or hygiene needs of your customers, nor adversely impacting your budget.
Use responsibly sourced paper While the forests in the United States are generally classified as low-risk basins in terms of deforestation, ensuring that the fibre in the paper products is responsibly sourced, remains vital. Not all paper products sold are responsibly sourced. In some cases, this contributes to global deforestation. How can you help contribute to healthy forests? By making sure all your paper products have been
certified by a credible third-party organisation, such as SFI (The Sustainable Forestry Initiative), FSC (The Forest Stewardship Council), or PEFC (The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification). If responsibly managed, forests provide the world with a truly renewable and sustainable resource. Third-party certifications can also help ensure that other global social responsibility concerns have been addressed as well. What about bamboo and other alternative fibres that are trending up? The reality is that many are not sourced locally and require longdistance shipping, which raises the products’ emissions impacts. When considering alternative fibre options, ensure the fibre is locally sourced and third-party certified.
Optimise and maximise recycled content Today, the paper in most commercial washrooms incorporates some level of recycled content. To go from good to better, and better to best in your sustainability efforts, evaluate recycled content percentages and types across your paper portfolio.
Good: Using paper containing some recycled content is good because it helps provide a base level of demand and support that helps divert these materials from landfills. Better: Using paper that exceeds the EPA post-consumer waste minimums (20 percent for tissue and 40 percent for towels) is better as the higher levels of post-consumer fibre create more demand for at-risk (of landfill) materials being diverted. Best: Using paper that is 100-percent recycled fibre and sourced from materials more likely to have ended up in the landfill (i.e., more mixed paper and less old, corrugated containers) is best. Municipalities and material recovery operators are dealing with a glut of excess paper as supply greatly exceeds demand. This has led to many municipalities either discontinuing paper recycling programs, or continuing to collect paper, but ultimately shipping it to a landfill. Higher levels of recycled post-consumer content help support collection and recovery efforts for lower grade/at-risk materials like mixed paper. continues on page 22 >>
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African Cleaning Review September/October 2021
