Felling trees for the sake of turning them into paper is not only an increasingly unnecessary practice in a digital age, but it’s also one that’s always been sort of a dick move for the planet. So our interest was piqued when we read about Repap. It’s a kind of paper that’s made from stones. Yeah. Stones.
Repap is made up of 80% calcium carbonate (CaCO) and a small percentage, 20%, from non-toxic resins (high intensity polyethylene). The calcium carbonate present in Repap comes from the limestone recovered from caves and used in the construction industry. The Calcium carbonate is reduced to a fine powder and the polyethylene acts as a binder, creating Repap, a resistant and durable, as well as a waterproof paper. A paper that is also soft, smooth, bright white, resistant like a film but without the use of substances derived from petroleum.
To be perfectly honest, that sounds like a great product and if you want to get your hands on some yourself, you can. The link below takes you to a website that sells notebooks called Ogami, that are made from the stuff. Prices start as low as $13.
[ Product Page ] VIA [ Werd ]
No petroleum products? Really? Let me quote from an article on polyethylene here… -.-
“High-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene high-density (PEHD) is a polyethylene thermoplastic made from petroleum. Known for its large strength to density ratio, HDPE is commonly used in the production of plastic bottles, corrosion-resistant piping, geomembranes, and plastic lumber.
It takes the equivalent of 1.75 kilograms of petroleum (in energy and raw materials) to make one kilogram of HDPE. HDPE is commonly recycled, and has the number “2” as its recycling symbol.”
I’d also like to point out that paper from renewable forests (i.e. most of it these days) is a form of carbon sequestration, and needs MUCH less energy per kilo than plastic and stone milling as described above. It can also be recycled multiple times, compounding its effectiveness, whereas plastic impregnated with stone particles would likely not be recoverable using today’s recycling equipment.
In short, this paper looks like the most eco-UNfriendly thing ever.