Are the bleaches used in paper making bad for the environment?
There has been much concern about the waste products from bleaching processes used to make wood pulp white and free of impurities. The paper industry now uses virtually no pure chlorine gas, the bleaching method that is worst for the environment. Elemental chlorine free (ECF) papers are papers made from pulp which has been bleached using oxygen, chlorine dioxide or other chemicals rather than pure chlorine. Totally chlorine free (TCF) papers are made from pulp which has been bleached without the use of any chlorine compounds at all. There is arguably little difference between ECF and TCF in the environmental impact of the pulp bleaching process, and both are significantly less polluting than traditional chlorine gas methods. The industry has made enormous progress over the last 10 years in this context. What is a sustainable forest? Considerable work has been done by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and others on this sensitive issue. In addition to yield, sustainability should inc
