WRITTEN QUESTION No. 685/96 by Jesús CABEZÓN ALONSO to the Commission. Consumption of 'ecologically sound cellulose'
Date: 1996-03-26
Institutions: CABEZON ALONSO, European Parliament
Subjects: application of EU law, clean technology, environmental protection, market prices, price reduction, pulp and paper industry, technical standard, water pollution













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91996E0685

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 685/96 by Jesús CABEZÓN ALONSO to the Commission. Consumption of 'ecologically sound cellulose'  


Official Journal C 280 , 25/09/1996 P. 0064 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0685/96 by Jesús Cabezón Alonso (PSE) to the Commission (26 March 1996)Subject: Consumption of 'ecologically sound cellulose'Of the thousand or so cellulose producers in the world, only 27 employ an ecologically sound woodpulp manufacturing process, using whitening techniques based on oxygen without chlorine.These undertakings have had to invest large sums for this purpose.This 'ecologically sound cellulose' is rather more expensive on the market.Does the Commission have any initiative in mind to encourage the consumption of this type of woodpulp?Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (10 May 1996)Production of pulp and paper in the Community must be in compliance with relevant Community and national legislation which includes provisions on the limitation and prevention of water pollution.In addition, a voluntary Community eco-label scheme for products was established in 1992, which indirectly also promotes clean process technologies. Within the voluntary eco-label scheme criteria have been developed for tissue products (kitchen rolls and toilet paper) which promote the reduction of chlorinated compounds through the limitation of adsorbable organic halogens (AOX). Eco-label criteria for copying paper are being prepared similarly.Since the main substance which contributes to AOX compounds in pulping effluents is chlorine, particularly elemental chlorine, the eco-label thresholds are set so as to discourage use of the latter. Accordingly a threshold for AOX emissions in pulp and paper manufacture is set at 0,5 kg per air dried ton of pulp and paper. Concomitantly, as substitutes for elemental chlorine, the industry uses chlorine dioxide, oxygen and ozone within the bleaching process. However these processes are known to have energy requirements for bleaching which are often higher than for that with elemental chlorine.Given that the eco-label seeks to reward those products having reduced environmental impact overall, the use of elemental chlorine or other bleaching methods is only one of the criteria to be borne in mind. For this reason the Commission does not promote one particular process on the basis of a single criterion but is in favour of any process which promotes cleaner technologies and satisfies legal requirements.As far as the Commission is aware so-called 'environmentally-sound pulp', especially TCF (totally chlorine free) has enjoyed a market premium, but it is understood that sales volumes and the premium have diminished over late 1995 and early 1996 as market pulp prices have fallen dramatically.