6.1. – Moving towards green printing?
A policy of sustainability applies, equally, to the newspaper’s industrial production process. The printing phase is directly impacted by the question of environmental protection: the choice of inks, the recovery and treatment of water and toxic products, waste recycling, using paper that is recycled or from paper mills with good ecological and sustainable practices, the question of what to do with unsold newspapers, etc.
Complete answers
Belgium
De Standaard : Information not provided
France
Europe 1 : Not applicable
Le Monde : Yes
Le Monde has just begun the process to obtain a ‘green label’ which involves rigorous managing of its waste.
Some waste is collected and reused, like paper – badly printed newspapers are collected and recycled by a specialised company. White paper is also recovered for recycling, as are bobbins, macules and some packaging.
Waste that is not reused is collected in special containers and disposed of – ink, oil, IT waste, electricity waste (batteries, light bulbs, neon light bulbs etc.), empty or dirty packaging, solvents, waste water for wetting, chemicals for treating plate production, such as revealers, etc.
Cloths are saved in containers and collected by a company which washes and replaces them.
The company announced the closing of its printing during the next year.
Ouest France : Yes
From 1998 to 2001, a study of public utility usage was carried out to ensure the organisation was up to standard: printing authorisation, noise measurement, etc. All areas were examined (waste management, air pollution, waste water, storage, lightning, pollution hazards).
Ouest-France was very late with this, so a large investment has been made and the site is now classified as an ‘environment protector’. All waste is collected, nothing is sent to the sewers.
Aluminium plates for offset printing are resold for recycling. Cleaning products are sorted and retreated. Non-volatile offset ink is used.
94.5% of paper is recycled. Unsold newspapers are recycled.
Ireland
The Irish Times : Not a current concern
Poland
Polskie Radio, kanal 3 : Not relevant
United Kingdom
The Guardian : Double certification
80% of the newspaper was printed on recycled paper in 2013.
The Guardian favours paper produced in Norway, using hydroelectric energy, which produces little CO2.
Those printing techniques have obtained two certifications: the ISO 4001 standard and the Carbon Trust Standard which is particularly concerned with the consumption of water, electricity and VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) emissions.