Executive Order 13101: ``Greening the Government through Waste
Prevention, Recycling and Federal Acquisition'' issued on September
14, 1998, orders Federal agencies and departments to improve the
Federal Government's use of recycled products and environmentally
preferable products and services. For paper the following section is
most relevant:
``Sec. 505. Minimum Content Standard for Printing and Writing Paper.
Executive agency heads shall ensure that their agencies meet or exceed
the following minimum materials content standards when purchasing or
causing the purchase of printintg and writing paper: (a) For high
speed copier paper, offset paper, forms bond, computer printout paper,
carbonless paper. file folders, white wove envelopes, writing and
office paper, book paper, cotton fiber paper, and cover stock, the
minimum content standard shall be no less than 30 percent postconsumer
materials beginning December 31, 1998. If paper containing 30 percent
postconsumer material is not reasonably available, does not meet
reasonable performance requirements, or is only available at an
unreasonable price, then the agency shall purchase paper containing no
less than 20 percent postconsumer material. The Steering Committee, in
consultation with the AEEs, may revise these levels if necessary.
(b) As an alternative to meeting the standards in sections 505(a),
for all printing and writing papers, the minimum content standard
shall be no less than 50 percent recovered materials that are a waste
material byproduct of a finished product other than a paper or textile
product that would otherwise be disposed of in a landfill, as
determined by the State in which the facility is located.
(c) Effective January 1, 1999, no executive branch agency shall
purchase, sell, or arrange for the purchase of, printing and writing
paper that fails to meet the minimum requirements of this section.''
Filler: The percent (pct) calcium carbonate in the filler shall be
determined as follows:
Method.--Weigh out approximately 1 g of paper to the nearest 1 mg,
making a correction for the moisture content (Note 1), and place it in
approximately 25 ml of water in a 125 ml Erlenmeyer flask. Pipet 20 ml
(Note 2) of standardized 0.1 N HCl into the flask, heat to boiling,
and boil for approximately 1 minute. Add 3 drops of aqueous methyl
red. Cool to room temperature and titrate to the first lemon yellow
with standardized 0.1 N NaOH solution.
If a trace of pink indicator remains adsorbed on the surface of the
paper, boil the paper briefly to desorb the pink color. Usually a
further drop of NaOH solution will restore the lemon yellow to the
solution.
Calculations.--Calculate the carbonate content of the paper as
percent calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as follows:
[(ml x N)HCl-(ml x N)NaOH] x 0.050
CaCO3, pct = ------------------------------------ x 100
g
where 0.050 is the milliequivalent weight of CaCO3 and g is
the weight of the specimen. Duplicate determinations should agree
within 0.3 pct CaCO3.
Report.--Report the carbonate content as percent CaCO3 of
the oven-dry paper to the nearest 0.1 pct.
Note 1--The specimen for analysis may be dried and weighed, or a
separate portion may be used for moisture determination.
Note 2--For a 1 g specimen, 20 ml of 0.1 HCl is sufficient to
neutralize the carbonate in a paper containing about 10 pct carbonate.
Note 3--This is not a direct determination of CaCO3, but
a measure of alkalinity expressed as CaCO3. Other alkaline
materials will affect the determination.
Flap adhesive thickness: Adhesive thickness shall be determined by
subtracting the average thickness (T-411) of the ungummed portion of
the flap from the average thickness of the gummed portion of the flap.
Fluorescence: See optical brightener.
Folding endurance: Use method T-423 (Schopper) or T-511 (M.I.T.). Report
the average of not less than 5 measurements.
Formaldehyde: Use method 111, ``Tentative Method of Analysis for
Formaldehyde Content of the Atmosphere (Colorimetric Method)'' (43502-
01-69T), by the Intersociety Committee, Methods of Air Sampling and
Analysis, American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C., 1972,
pp 194-198. Additional information may be obtained from the
Association, 1015 15th Street, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005
(www.apha.org).
Gloss: Use method T-480 for 75 deg. or T-653 for 20 deg..
Grain: See machine direction.
Grammage: Use method T-410.
Groundwood pulp: Papermaking fibers produced by mechanical means; does
not include bleached chemi-thermo-mechanical pulps (BCTMP), a semi-
chemical pulp. Also see stock.
Ink absorbency: Use method T-431.
Light transmission: Use method E-308 of ASTM.
Lignin: The percent (pct) lignin in paper shall be determined
spectrophotometrically as follows:
(1) Remove the calcium carbonate filler from a 5 by 5 cm paper
sample by placing it in hot (99 deg.C) 0.1 N HCl until effervescence
is complete.
(2) Rinse paper sample with distilled water.
(3) Place sample in 85 deg.C oven (for a few minutes) until dry.
(4) Trim paper to fit the sample holder of spectrophotometer.
(5) Clamp the paper sample which has been moistened with a drop of
tetrachloroethylene between the potassium bromide windows.
(6) Obtain an infrared (IR) spectrum by averaging 50 scans with a
Fourier transform infrared spectrometer.
(7) IR spectral data must be expressed in ``absorbance'' rather than
``transmittance''. The background spectrum (air blank) should be no
more than two hours old.
(8) Calculate lignin using the following equation:
pct lignin (of fibrous material)
= (L/C + 0.033) x 132.45
where
L=the integrated area bounded by the IR absorption band and baseline
from 1540 cm-1 to 1490 cm-1
C=the integrated area bounded by the IR absorption band and baseline
from 3000 cm-1 to 2800 cm-1.
Machine direction: Use method T-409.