20 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk January / February 2024 - Issue 346 ENVIRONMENT / NEWS PrintMonthly printmonthly PrintMonthlyMagazine Not-for-profit organisation, Two Sides UK, has criticised the recent announcement by BT that it will be bringing an end to its printed Phone Book which BT says marks a “greener future” for the publication. BT Group revealed earlier in the year it would wrap up production of its Phone Book in March 2024. At the time, Faisal Mahomed, director of BT’s UK portfolio businesses, said: “This is an important move for the environment, for our customers and contribution to BT Group’s overall modernisation and sustainability programme.” With the last copies now arriving on doorsteps with the tagline: “Final Edition, hold on to it forever”, many media publications have noted the end of the historic title, reiterating some of BT’s environmental claims. When highlighting the issue to Two Sides UK, an organisation that tackles greenwashing and provides facts about the print and paper industries, Print Monthly spoke to managing director, Jonathan Tame. Tame says: “BT’s announcement doesn’t once mention the significant cost they will be saving, choosing instead to make misleading statements, greenwashing, of the environmental benefits of somehow saving 72,000 trees a year. “Trees for wood and paper products are harvested from sustainably managed forests, the trunk going to lumber and the fewer volume parts; the branches, crown of the tree, and sawmill waste being utilised in paper production. In Europe, sustainably managed forests are actually growing by about 612 million m3 every year. Not using paper does not somehow save trees.” Two Sides runs campaigns including Love Paper and the Anti-Greenwash Campaign and the organisation recently revealed it has removed over 1,075 misleading anti-paper statements since 2010. Tame told Print Monthly that Two Sides has engaged with BT in the past regarding a cost-saving campaign which pushed customers to paperless billing which BT eventually agreed was misleading. “Digital searches are also not consequence-free,” adds Tame, who says: “Data centres, PCs, laptops, and phones all have an impact, as they consume power to store and receive digital information. “The demand for raw materials such as critical and rare earth minerals is growing to meet the requirements to make electronic devices that are also difficult to recycle.” Two Sides responds to BT greenwashing The BT Phone Book started in 1880 and contained 248 personal and business names in London By David Osgar Dundee-based Tradeprint has reflected on how its use of HP Latex print technology is aiding its ongoing sustainability commitments. Tradeprint first began working with HP Latex technology in 2022 when Tayprint, one of Tradeprint’s main suppliers, liquidated. Tradeprint took on two HP Latex R2000 flatbed printers, a HP Latex 570 large-format printer, and two HP Latex 3600 large-format printers all of which were installed by reseller Perfect Colours. As a result, Tradeprint can offer more environmentally friendly services to its customers thanks to water-based odourless HP Latex inks and HP’s cartridge and printhead takeback programme offered through the HP Planet Partners initiative. The company is also committed to removing plastics so being able to combine these machines with PVC-free substrates is a winwin. Tradeprint boosts sustainability drive with HP Latex technology According to new research from DS Smith, the UK is lagging behind the rest of Europe when it comes to paper and packaging recycling. New statistics show that two in five paper and cardboard packages (44%) are set to end up in landfill or incineration by 2030. Though the UK is the third biggest producer of paper and card waste in Europe, it is currently ranked 25th out of 30 European nations for recycling. The report from DS Smith called Wasted Paper: A Path To Better Recycling, reveals that the loss of sustainable and recyclable packaging equates to 17.3 million tonnes which is worth £2.8bn. DS Smith is calling for better labelling and education of recyclable products in order to reverse the decline of recycling rates. Research was carried out through 50 experts and a survey involving 2,000 adults across the UK By acquiring five HP Latex machines, Tradeprint is able to offer more sustainable services for its customers UK paper recycling rate amongst worst in Europe Working in collaboration with the Woodland Trust, a total of 100 of Premier Paper Group’s customers and employees planted around 3,000 native saplings at Frodsham golf course in north Cheshire. To date, Premier’s Carbon Capture program has created over 3 million square metres of new native woodland in the UK, which equates to 107,571 tonnes of CO2e to be mitigated. Antalis, which has worked with Forest Carbon since 2014, also recently planted native oak saplings with customers at The Croft on the Lowther Estate in Penrith, Cumbria. These trees join the 9,000-plus broadleaf and coniferous trees that Antalis has already planted on the six-hectare site. To date, Antalis and its customers have planted around 50,000 trees and restored 30 hectares of ecosystem whilst capturing over 9,000 tonnes of CO2. Paper suppliers plant native saplings across UK Premier’s Carbon Capture program has seen over 107,571 tonnes of CO2e mitigated
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