Books are printed from juice and milk cartons in Ukraine

The Kharkiv-based Ranok Publishing House is fully switching to eco-friendly book production from recycled tetrapaks, without the use of chemical bleaches and using electricity generated from burning sunflower husks. These books are lighter and look more interesting than conventional books. Poland, Germany and Austria have expressed interest in the development and have already signed contracts with Ukraine to supply such paper.

Tetrapak is a 6-layer material consisting of cardboard, polyethylene and aluminium foil. The manufacturer claims that all these components are recycled into 100%, but this process requires more sophisticated equipment than for conventional waste paper, as one layer must first be separated from the other. In Ukraine, this technology is used by Zmiivska Paper Mill. They produce high-quality paper used for printing books by Ranok Publishing House.

How paper is made from recycled materials

Initially, ZBF did not have any special equipment to recycle juice and milk tetra packs. The Swedish company Tetra Pak® helped the Ukrainian factory develop a technology and equipment that allows it to separate cardboard from plastic and aluminium. The company has now established full production and produces about 1,000 tonnes of paper from used cartons every month.

But it's not enough to just recycle boxes into paper, you also need to use a minimum of energy in the process. ZBF has managed to do this as well. Previously, about 200,000 cubic metres of gas had to be consumed to print books from paper (the same amount of gas needed to heat 50,000 residential buildings), but now the factory has an energy plant that squeezes out the husks from sunflower seeds and thus ensures the operation of the entire factory. The plant was tested in January 2020.

"There are some engineering shortcomings, but it's all fixable. The main thing is that the theoretical calculations are correct. Our goal of producing paper that preserves the environment, without deforestation, without gas, is realistic."

Viktor KruglovCEO of Ranok Publishing House

The problem is that Ukraine still does not have a full-fledged waste sorting system, so most of the recyclables go to landfills instead of being recycled. Only 15% of all used packaging ends up at the Zmiiv factory. And even this percentage can be recovered only thanks to the help of volunteer recycling sorters.

How tetrapaks are recycled into book paper and what happens to the plastic and aluminium that also make up the packaging.

Bookpaper - what is it

Paper made from recycled materials is called book paper. It meets all sanitary requirements and is bleached without the use of chlorine or titanium dioxide.

How it differs from ordinary paper:

• white by no more than 88% - the eyes get less tired when reading;
• the surface is smooth, without gloss and clogging;
• increased looseness, so books are lighter (important for textbooks and the weight of school bags).

The Ranok publishing house produces 60% books from such paper and plans to switch to eco-paper completely. Currently, it is used to print textbooks, but recently the children's encyclopaedia Journey to the Wonderful World of Animals by Anna Claiborne and Brendan Kearney was released.

One of the most positive news is that other countries (Poland, Austria, Germany) have become interested in Ukrainian eco-paper and have already signed contracts for its supply.