We make our paper with recycled fibres. The fibre used in Australian Paper's manufacturing is sourced from sawmill residue, sustainably managed hardwood forests, managed hardwood and softwood plantations, imported pulp and waste fibre.

Air Emissions

Understanding that manufacturing processes commonly result in the release of some emissions into the atmosphere, including air, noise and odour, Australian Paper is managing its air emissions appropriately to minimise impacts on human health, communities and the environment.

Our Commitment

At Australian Paper we have strict controls in place to minimise the release of emissions into the air and ensure regulatory compliance by leveraging appropriate technologies and incorporating elements of pollution prevention in our operations.

We are committed to:

• Apply continuous monitoring for all major emissions to the atmosphere.
• Minimise our discharges and limit our impact on local air quality.
• Maintain our Mill operations within specified environmental licence limits.
• Achieve compliance.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, we have sought to adopt an enterprise-wide approach to further eliminate and reduce emission sources by coordinating our actions. Some of our initiatives include the installation of a dilute gas collection system as part of the Maryvale Pulp Mill upgrade. This system will collect and treat vapours to remove emissions to air. We also continue to work with local regulators to manage and address air quality issues as and when they arise. An example of our commitment to minimising our impact in the local Gippsland and surrounding communities was our investment in odour reduction activities at the Maryvale Mill.

Our Performance

To date the majority of emissions arising from our operations are released during on-site fuel combustion and through the pulping and bleaching processes. For example, combustion processes that create thermal energy used for paper drying produce a number of oxides.

Air
Key indicators:

• Based on our monitoring data for 2008/09, all mill sites operated within their strict licence conditions in relation to air emissions and achieved compliance.
• Our NO2 emissions have steadily decreased over the past five years as a result of enhanced operational processes.
• In 2008/2009, Australian Paper invested $1.6 million to address community concern in relation to noise resulting from the new wood chipper.

Odours
At Maryvale, some odours are produced during the Kraft process and during on-site wastewater treatment. Reduced sulphur gas, or TRS, is emitted from the Kraft process particularly during shut-down or start-up processes. Our wastewater treatment process involves the breakdown of organic material under anaerobic conditions, which results in non-hazardous odours.