Production of Paper & Board
Although more than 2000 years old, paper & board remain ubiquitous in our lives, from the cereal box on our breakfast table to our newspapers, sanitary paper products, and the documents we use every day to inform, organise and relax.
Paper and cardboard protect the goods we need in our daily life. Paper informs us, allows us to communicate and contributes to our day-to-day hygiene.
The renewable origin of paper & board, and their recyclability, put these materials on the forefront of the circular economy.
The paper & board industry, vital contributor to our societies
The paper & board industry is essential to our societies and economies. In Belgium and the EU, this industry significantly contributes to the economy, with recent growth in both consumption and production. It is a leader in sustainable practices, such as recycling and promoting a circular economy. The sectors also support numerous jobs, from forestry to manufacturing and recycling.
Paper-based packaging has become increasingly important with the rise of e-commerce, helping to reduce plastic waste. The demand for tissue and hygiene products continues to grow, driven by societal trends towards better hygiene and health standards. Despite digital advancements, paper remains crucial for educational materials, official documents, and personal communication.
A commitment to the environment
The Belgian paper industry excels in recycling, reintegrating a significant portion of paper products back into its production processes. More than half of the fibres used for paper production come from recycling. The necessary fresh fibres come from responsibly managed forests and waste wood of the furniture and sawmill sector.
However, the industry faces challenges such as high energy costs, which impact competitiveness. The most important raw materials for the production of paper, besides wood and wastepaper, are water and energy. Water is needed in large quantities as a “fibre carrier” but is not consumed. 90% is reused a number of times and after purification reintroduced into the environment. Energy is used in the form of electricity and steam.
The companies in the Belgian paper sector have been committed for years to further improving their already far-reaching environmental efforts and thereby further limiting the environmental footprint of their activities.
Specifically, improvements focus on:
- An always more efficient use of resources: wood, wastepaper, energy, water, additives.
- Always more environmentally friendly production processes that reduce waste water and air emissions, waste production and increase the reuse of by-products.
In Belgium, the paper and board industry is also vital for the economy, supporting local jobs and contributing to exports. Its commitment to innovation further ensures its continued relevance in a digital world.
of all paper and cardboard recycled
renewable fuels
The paper & board production and transformation processes
To meet today’s varied demands, the paper & board industry uses complex industrial processes, where cutting-edge technology is applied from diverse domains such as physics, chemistry, and robotics.
Paper is essentially a thin layer of cellulose fibres to which elements may be added to improve quality or usability. To make this layer, pulp is used, which is made from cellulose fibres coming from waste paper, wood or a combination of the two.
Cardboard is a general term for heavy paper-based products used in various applications, especially packaging. It comes in different forms, including:
- Paperboard: A thick, single-layer paper used for products like cereal boxes and greeting cards.
- Corrugated board: Basically two, three or more papers glued together in a specific way giving it the light, but strong structure we know. Typically, it consists of a fluted (wavy) middle layer sandwiched between two flat liners. This type is commonly used for shipping boxes thanks to its strength and durability.
- Massive board: A thicker and more rigid material used for car parts, sturdy boxes, and other items requiring higher durability.
The paper & board production and transformation processes
The possibilities of paper and cardboard as raw materials are endless and extremely suitable for tailor-made solutions. Products include folding cardboard, corrugated cardboard, cardboard packaging of all kinds of cartonnage and displays, large, medium and small capacity bags, flexible packaging, tubes and cores, food packaging, school and office supplies, envelopes, labels, self-adhesive materials, playing cards, wallpaper, cigarette paper, paper products for hospitals, decorative paper for the furniture industry, napkins, tablecloths and sets. Because of these many possibilities, paper and cardboard processing is a very heterogeneous sector.
Recycling
As renewable resources, paper and cardboard packaging begin and end with natural fibres from renewable sources, originating mainly from responsibly managed forests. After use, the paper products are collected, sorted and recycled into new products. Each fibre can be reused several times depended on the quality up to 25 times and more. This way the sector is limiting the demand for new fibres because we all want our forests to keep growing (Statistics | Eurostat).
Versatile, reusable and recyclable, paper and board are a great choice for reducing reliance on single-use non-recyclable materials and promoting sustainability.