Recycled makes the grade for South West Water

South West Water’s first experiment with recycled paper was unsuccessful, but it returned to the issue five years later and now uses recycled across its internal and external print.

That the quality of recycled papers has come a long way in the last five years is evident from the experience of South West Water, which provides water and sewerage services for Devon, Cornwall and parts of Dorset and Somerset.

Five years ago, the utility company explored the possibility of switching its printed output of information sheets, leaflets, booklets, bill inserts, and handbooks, as well as internal print (amounting to more than 250 tonnes per year in total), to recycled papers. The results however were disappointing, with the company reporting that paper dust and fibres caused printers and copiers to jam.

Then in 2005, the Government-backed Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) got involved and persuaded South West Water to look at the issue once more. The firm’s environmental planning manager, Martin Ross says: “We put together a small project team representing those in the company involved in buying and using paper. Following WRAP’s recommendations, our suppliers were asked to submit samples of the latest recycled paper products on the market, which we compared to the virgin grade papers we were using.”

These samples were assessed for both quality and environmental credentials, and South West Water came to the conclusion that not only did the recycled paper quality match that of virgin fibre stocks, but also the “total life cycle impact” of the recycled paper, including energy used in producing it and miles travelled in transportation, made it the best option.

All the same, there were negative perceptions within the water company that had to be overcome – a legacy of the previous unhappy experience with recycled. It was therefore essential to build confidence throughout South West Water that the new recycled paper was both fit for purpose and provided real environmental benefits.

Ross continues: “As well as the paper’s ‘look and feel’, technical suitability was a crucial issue. We undertook a comprehensive copying and printing test programme on different types of recycled paper to ensure that we made the right choices.”

There was also the issue of cost, with the expectation that introducing recycled paper would increase the company’s paper costs. This has not proved to be the case, with the company seeing the growth in product choice and increasing competitiveness among suppliers resulting in an actual minor cost saving following the switch.

“It’s unarguable. We’ve proved that, as well as boosting sustainability, switching to recycled paper need not involve paying a price premium,” says Ross.

More environmentally-aware practices have flowed from South West Water’s recycled paper initiative. Pennon Group Plc, of which South West Water is a subsidiary, has produced its latest CSR Report on recycled for the first time; a policy of regularly monitoring suppliers, prices and products has been implemented so that the company is kept aware of recycled product developments on an ongoing basis; and a Sustainability Forum has been established, chaired by Martin Ross and including representatives from every South West Water department, to gain greater staff involvement in green issues and greener ways of working.

Recycled paper at South West Water

• 200 tonnes per year of printing papers for publications with a minimum of 50% recycled content
• 40 tonnes per year of office/copier paper with a minimum of 70% recycled content
• 10 tonnes per year of 100% recycled tissue paper