KEY ISSUES: SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT
> See also water and plantations.
Water use in processing
Water is a scarce resource in Australia. Due to the importance of water in the regional economy the Australian paper industry has been proactive in reducing water usage. In 2003–04 the industry used an average of 26.7 kilolitres per tonne of production. This is a 65 per cent reduction in water use per tonne since 1990. The Australian paper industry’s water use compares favourably with consumption by the industry elsewhere in the world. The use of fresh water by European papermakers averages 40 kilolitres per tonne of product and the Forest Products Association of Canada reports a water use figure of 67 kilolitres per tonne of production.
There are existing financial incentives for mills to use water efficiently. As government policies on pricing and use evolve in response to a better understanding and awareness of the scarcity of water, the incentives to use water efficiently will increase. But already new mills are more efficient than older ones and gains are being made through upgrades of existing mills. While the paper making process uses a lot of water, much of it is ultimately treated and returned.
The paper industry has also made significant improvements to the quality of water discharged. These improvements include:
- a 93 per cent reduction in total suspended solids (TSS) discharge to surface waters since 1990,
to 1.2 kg per tonne of production - an 85 per cent reduction in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of discharge to surface waters since
1990, to 4.3 kg per tonne of production.
The paper industry continues to seek ways of reducing water use and is working with government to this end. The scale of pulp and paper mills make them a substantial water user in their local area. Accordingly any increase or decrease in water use will have significant impacts on the supply infrastructure and the water available for other uses, including environmental flows.
There are strong financial and community pressures to increase the level of water recycling within pulp and paper mills. All mills recycle water within the process to some extent. The quantity of water required by a process will reduce with higher levels of water treatment and recycling. The speed of the introduction of these efficiencies is, in part, determined by the investment cycles of the pulp and paper companies, with the newer installations being of higher efficiency than older plant.
The risks to the industry from poor management of water use in paper processing include higher production costs due to inefficient use of water, and increased costs per unit of water as well as reduced access to water if it is perceived as a wasteful user.
Target/reporting
A3P's Sustainability Action Plan commits to:
- Twenty per cent improvement in efficiency of water use per tonne of product or $ of value by
2015 (from 2006 levels). - Twenty per cent reduction in BOD/COD of water discharged by 2015 (from 2006 levels).
Timber Information
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