Founded by Jon Tse and Kevin Garcia, the Australian firm produces “stone paper” made from natural stone waste in place of traditional wood pulp. Tse and Garcia think that they need to find a sustainable option for paper, given that the need for it is unlikely to disappear in the future. Their new paper reduces the carbon emissions by 67% compared to traditional paper. Natural stone paper brings offers the paper industry (which has caused the destruction of 14% of the world’s forests) a sustainable alternative. It is made using chalk and limestone-no lumber, no water, no bleach (e.g. chlorine), no acid, and no any extra waste! What make Karst stone paper a superior choice over traditional paper is that is it sustainable, smoother, glossier, water and tear resistant, and 100% recyclable. Stone paper production differs from traditional paper production in that waste limestone is brought in from mines, and must be treated multiple times before it is mixed with resin and crushed into a fine powder. While this method involves a lot more repetition on the production line, it much more economical than classic paper because of how it conserves natural resources. In a given year, it saves 100.000 liters of water, 50.000 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions, and 200.000 kW of energy. The pulp is made of 90% natural stone and 10% binder resin, used to bind the stone together. This means that it can be turned into thin sheets of paper without the need for any form of acid or bleach. Karst Stone Paper creates a sustainable alternative to a product that few of us can live without. In the future, it plans to expand its range of products-which currently includes a variety of thin papers and thick cardboard of different weights, alongside, A5 and A6 notebooks-to include printer paper well.
PAPER MADE FROM NATURAL STONE
Millions
of paper and cardboard products are consumed every year in schools, offices,
and virtually all other aspects of daily life. More precisely, 1.3% of the
world’s forests (i.e. 40 hectares of land) are used for paper production. In
fact, for every 1 tonne of pulp 20 trees are cut, 27.000 litres of water are
consumed, and 1.3 tons of carbon dioxide is released when paper is
manufactured. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Karst Stone Paper,
based in Sydney, is offering an environmentally friendly alternative to the
paper industry, which currently uses more than 40% of all of the world’s
industrial lumber. Its goal is to reduce the deforestation rate through
sustainable paper products.
