European Database for Cartonboard and Carton Production 2023

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Chemicals and other non-fibre inputs
Data were collected for chemicals and other non-fibre inputs to the cartonboard
mills which may be used either within the process or as additives. Chemicals are given
as dry weight. Some of the inputs have been reported grouped together according
to their function in the mill. The functional additives, mainly starch, influence the
properties of the paper, whilst process additives are used to guarantee that the
process of paper production runs smoothly or to increase the production. Water
treatment additives include additives used for all water treatment on the site,
including the treatment of water for the power station, paper production and
wastewater treatment if this is done internally. The different mills use a large
variety of process and water treatment chemicals. Those that are commonly used
and are above the cut-off criterion per mill are reported in the database. A very
limited quantity of other additives and chemicals are also used, e.g. Carboxymethyl
cellulose (CMC), Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), Sodium hypochlorite,
Polyvinyl alcohol, Alkyl succinic anhydride (ASA) sizer, talc, Polyacrylate, PEI, optical
brightener, rosin. Collectively, these additional additives and chemicals account for
less than 1% of the material inputs to the manufacturing of cartonboard.
Other than cartonboard, the main input for carton production is inks and
varnish, followed by glues. However, these inputs account for less than 2% of
the overall composition of the cartons.
Packaging
Data on cores and other packaging materials associated with paper reels was
not collected and updated for 2021. Looking at previous data collections, the values
showed little change over the years and other LCA studies show that the impacts
of these packaging components are relatively small.
Data for packaging materials used around converted cartons (stretch/shrink wrap
and corrugated packaging) was collected and updated for 2021. Pallets are also used
in the logistic operations of the carton industry. However, data on usage of pallets has
not been collected. Previous iterations of the study have shown that the reported data
on the use of pallets are confusing because of the complexity of the matter. Pallets can
be returnable or one-way, only used internally in the plants and produced of wood,
plastic or paper/ wood combinations. Previously some plants have reported their use
in number of pallets while others have reported in kilogram pallet per tonne net
saleable product, making it difficult to produce a meaningful figure.
Allocation of raw materials to paper grades when a mill produces
multiple products
The basic data for raw materials and chemical inputs are mainly based on recipes used
for the production of the specific products produced at each mill (i.e., allocation based
on causality). Where this was not possible, allocation was made according to the
mass production of the different papers produced at the mill.
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