The pulp and paper industry is the 3rd largest industrial polluter – 220 million pounds of toxic pollution into air and water each year. Deforestation has released an estimated 120 billion tons of CO2 into the air. 3 million tons of chlorine, a major source of carcinogen dioxin, is dumped into our waterways each year from paper companies. Every woman alive today carries some trace of dioxin in her breast milk. Dioxin is considered one of the most toxic substances ever produced = cancer, liver failure, miscarriage, birth defects, and genetic damage.
- Canada uses 6 million tonnes of paper and paperboard annually. Only 1/4 of Canada’s waste paper and paperboard is recycled. Paper and paper products account for more than 1/3 of all Canada’s waste.
- Total production costs for hemp seed grown on dryland was estimated at $409 per acre or $0.38 per pound of hemp seed produced. Of this, approximately 75 percent were variable costs and the remaining 25 percent were capital or fixed costs.
- Paper manufacturing is the 3rd largest user of fossil fuels worldwide.
- Hemp makes the paper stronger and lasts centuries longer than wood paper, which could be very valuable for people who want to keep records aside from on computers. Hemp paper does not yellow, crack, or otherwise deteriorate as tree paper does now. The acids which are needed for wood paper eventually eat away at the pulp and cause it to turn yellow and fall apart. Because of this publishers, libraries, and archives have to order specially processed acid-free paper, but they could just buy hemp paper which already meets their quality standards.
- Hemp paper can be recycled up to seven times, whereas tree paper can only be recycled up to three times if that.
For more information about Hemp vs pulp, please read the following PDF:
Corps
Hemp as a crop is also a standout. The bio-regional model of agriculture focuses on obtaining high value for the resources of the local land, recycling the waste and end products ad infinitum and thereby creating a “closed circle” of farming and industry. Hemp is an elegant solution to the crises created by modern agribusiness and conventional cotton production because:
- Hemp grows well without the use of chemicals: usually, no pesticides or fungicides are used because it has few serious fungus or pest problems – although the degree of immunity to attacking organisms has been greatly exaggerated. Several insects and fungi specialize exclusively in hemp! But despite this, the use of pesticides and fungicides are usually unnecessary to get a good yield. No herbicides are generally used because dense plantings shade out weeds; no defoliants are needed (as they are with machine-harvested cotton) because the dried foliage is not a problem for harvesting.
- Hemp requires less water to thrive than cotton – is actually drought tolerant – and usually grows well without irrigation. Globally, 77% of cotton crops are irrigated.
- Hemp paper doesn’t require toxic bleaching chemicals. It can be whitened with hydrogen peroxide, which doesn’t poison waterways as chloride and bleach–the chemicals used in making wood pulp paper–do.
- Hemp has a fiber yield higher than any other agricultural crop, thereby requiring less land for equal yield:
Average fiber production, in pounds, per acre:
| Conventional cotton | Organic cotton | Flax | Wool | Hemp |
| 121 – 445 lbs. | 80 – 102 lbs. | 323 – 465 lbs. | 62 lbs. | 485 – 809 lbs. |
Sources
OECOTEXTILES. (n,d). CHARACTERISTICS OF HEMP. Retrieved December 8th, 2020 from https://oecotextiles.blog/2010/06/02/characteristics-of-hemp/#:~:text=Hemp’s%20characteristics%20as%20a%20textile,lifespan%20than%20other%20natural%20fabrics.
Rodale Institute. (November 13th, 2019). 5 WAYS HEMP CAN SAVE THE PLANET. Retrieved December 8th, 2020 from https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/5-ways-hemp-can-save-the-planet/#:~:text=Using%20hemp%20building%20materials%20not,helps%20sequester%20carbon%20while%20growing.
Hemp Frontiers. (May 23rd, 2005). Hemp Paper Vs Tree Paper. Retrieved December 8th, 2020 from https://hempfrontiers.com/hemp-paper-vs-tree-paper/
Hemp Frontiers. (February 25th, 2012). Hemp Growing Advantages – The Ultimate Sustainable Farming Crop. Retrieved December 8th, 2020 from https://hempfrontiers.com/hemp-growing-advantages-sustainability/
Hemp Frontiers. (October 16th, 2012). Hemp Paper. Retrieved December 8th, 2020 from https://hempfrontiers.com/hemp-paper/
iD2 Communications. (n,d). FACTS ABOUT PAPER AND PAPER WASTE. Retrieved December 8th, 2020 from https://suedesign4.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/eco-design-paper-facts.pdf
Laate, E. (November 2016). INDUSTRIAL HEMP SEED PRODUCTION COSTS AND RETURNS IN ALBERTA, 2015. Goverment of Canada. Retrieved Decemver 8th, 2020 from https://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$Department/deptdocs.nsf/all/econ16267/$FILE/2015IndustrialHempCOP.pdf
Imartin. (March 29th, 2019). The Shocking Link Between Paper and Hemp. woodland Paper. Retrieved December 8th, 2020 from https://www.woodlandpaper.com/2019/03/paper-vs-hemp/