That is the tops of the tree, saw mill waste and forest thinnings. This means that the tree would still be harvested even if the papermaker did not use the waste wood. Paper can only be recycled between 4-6 times, the fibres then wear out and lose their papermaking qualities.
Primary fibre needs to then enter the chain to strengthen the fibres.
Great steps have been taken to ensure that forest levels are maintained. More trees are now being planted than are harvested. Paper consumption has risen steadily over the past 20 years and it was all too easy to relate the growth in paper consumption to the destruction of the tropical rainforests. Not surprisingly, the paper industry was offended at such suggestions and took every opportunity to refute the claim, pointing out as it did so, that tropical hardwoods were not used at all by the paper industry because they were unsuitable for papermaking. This is no longer the case, mixed tropical hardwoods are being used in Indonesia to make pulp and paper from forests designated by the Government as suitable for conversion to plantations.