More on Kenaf

unknown

1996

Published in:

Social Trends Newsletters, Feb. 1996, No. 144

Flax and kenaf can be made into paper and wood products with the same machines used to make tree products. Agricultural farm crop wastes can supplement declining timber harvests for paper.

Soil Erosion Control:

Mud slides, caused by clear-cuts, have increased tremendously in Oregon. Every year we lose precious top soil. We can plant flax and kenaf to protect watersheds from erosion. Both plants have powerful tap roots that hold the soil together better than native grasses. In fact, the Forest Service used flax and other plants for erosion control in California and Oregon until the early 1900s.

Environmentally Benign:

Plants make 4 times as much pulp per acre as 30-year-old trees. Over a 30 year period, plant crops could produce 120 to 160 times as much paper. Plant paper can be processed without harmful chemicals like chlorine bleach.
Kenaf and flax pulp can be recycled 4-5 times as much as tree pulp.
Can be added to wood pulp to increase strength, therefore saving trees.
Can be grown without pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Drought resistant and pest resistant.
Add plants to wood by-products to increase strength.

Consumers Drive the Market:

You have the power to choose tree-free paper products. You can demand paper products made with plants. Recycled paper products that are labeled 100% recycled might have as little as 10% recycled material. In reality, post consumer product determines the exact amount of recycled material. If it says 100% recycled, it legally can contain 90% virgin trees.

Supplement, Not Replacement:

Adding flax and kenaf to tree-pulp increases strength and recyclability and decreases chemicals and clear-cuts. The increased supply would save the mills from closing and re-open closed mills. In the early 1900s, Oregon was the top producer of flax in the United States.

Saving Trees Saves Jobs!

Annually renewable plants would supplement declining timber harvests used by the paper and particle board industries. Jobs would be saved in the mills and on the farms. Flax and kenaf can be used in the local mills without retooling. Crops can be harvested by farmers every year, which would save the small family farm from urban development. Oregon flax was worth more than the land it was grown on, and it rivaled timber in economic revenues. We can't afford to lose millions to flax imports.

Make Paper With Plants!

Making plant products can be done at home, and you don't need a mill to make fiberboard or paper. You need: 1 household blender; 1 grill (barbecue); 1 window screen; three blocks of wood. First chop your stalks, add water and blend into pulp. Then pour through screen to catch fibers. Fold screen to sandwich pulp and squeeze as much water out as possible. Put a sheet of newspaper on both sides and trim edges. Place "new" sandwich on grill on stove. Add blocks and large book for weight. Flip sandwich every 5-10 minutes to dry evenly. Remove newspapers when dry enough to hold form. Cut into samples, show them.(Information put out by TEST -- Try Environmental Solutions Together, Cave Junction, Oregon.)

Peter and Aaron Isenagle, founders of TEST, send an address, phone number and fax number for anyone interested in using paper made from kenaf.

VISION PAPER
Box 20399
Albuquerque, NM 87154-0399
Phone (505) 294-0293 Fax (505) 294-7040