Environmentally friendly paper made from 100% recovered paper for paper bags and boxes (DE-UZ 217a)

Environmentally friendly recycled paper

Paper made from recovered paper uses significantly less resources and also greatly reduces the wastewater load and water and energy consumption in comparison to standard products. The Blue Angel for paper made from 100% recovered paper for paper bags and boxes is awarded to products that live up to these requirements. At least 65% of the recovered paper must be sourced from the ordinary, medium and kraft paper grades, which are primarily recovered from household collections. The Blue Angel thus aims to ensure that almost all of the paper fibres recovered in the paper cycle are preserved. In addition, the Blue Angel restricts the addition of critical production aids and paper refining agents in its Basic Award Criteria in order reduce the pollutant load in the paper. For example, the use of optical brighteners, halogenated bleaching agents and not readily biodegradable complexing agents is prohibited except for in a few exceptional cases. Furthermore, it also sets strict requirements for waste water emissions, the generation of waste and energy consumption during the production of the paper.