European Database for Cartonboard and Carton Production 2023

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Figure 7
Potential credit for reduction of substances in the effluent water
Since only a few mills analyse their incoming water the available data cannot be
considered as representative. Therefore, only data for the emissions to the recipient are
given, without taking into account the substances in the incoming water. Most of the
cartonboard plants have internal wastewater treatment, and in some cases this is then
further treated externally afterwards. In case the wastewater is not further treated
externally and released to the environment, the emission level of substances is so low
that reporting them is not required by authorities.
Besides the substances reported in Table 4, very few plants have also given data on some
of the following emissions: metals (Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, Nickel, Iron, Boron,
Aluminium), Chlorine and Phosphorus. The amounts are below 0.001 kg/tonne nsp and
are not reported in the inventories.
Allocation of emissions to paper grades when a mill produces more than one
paper grade
As far as waterborne emissions per m3 are measured for a mill, these data are well
documented. The figures reported are usually based on continuous measurements
according to control programmes set by official authorities. Given emissions to water are
generally measured according to standard methodology, although for COD and BOD
results can be significantly different if measured on a homogenous sample or on a settled
sample. Where necessary, allocation between paper grades is done according to mass of
produced paper grade.
Data on emissions to water from the carton converting plants were also collected.
However, the converting plants are not subject to Industrial Emissions legislation, and
therefore the quantity and quality of available data is inconsistent. This is further
complicated by the fact that the cartonboard plants do not all have their own effluent
treatment facilities or treat only certain aspects of the wastewater associated with specific
processes (for example, ink recovery). Many plants discharge a proportion of their
wastewater under specific agreement to public effluent treatment facilities and
therefore do not have access to data on the releases to the environment (after final
treatment). For this reason, data representative of emissions after a public wastewater
treatment plant should be considered for the waste emissions from the converting
plants.
© RISE Research Institutes of Sweden