News
Atlantic becomes first FSC-certified 100% recycled newsprint in North America

Press Release

Press Release

Whitby, ON: Atlantic Newsprint Company has been awarded Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for its 100% recycled newsprint, making it the first 100% recycled FSC-certified news sheet in North America and giving recognition to innovative publishers and retailers that use the paper.

Atlantic was notified of the certification by the SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance, an independent accrediting organization.

FSC certification is considered one of the pre-eminent standards within the forest products industry. The Forest Stewardship Council is an international organization that provides recognition to organizations that support the growth of responsible forest management. With this certification, Atlantic can display the prestigious FSC trademark on its products.

“With demand increasing for ever-higher standards of environmental performance, we expanded our newsprint line last year with new paper grades designed for printers that produce weekly flyers and directories,” says Michael Booth, vice president of sales for Atlantic Newsprint. “The FSC certification allows printers and end-users of our products to confidently demonstrate their participation in the green revolution to their customers. That’s important as consumers become more discerning and wary about misleading green claims.”

Atlantic has been producing 100% recycled newsprint at its mill in Whitby since the newsprint division inception in 1991. The mill consumes more than 200,000 tons of old newspapers and magazines a year and makes newsprint for newspaper publishers and commercial printers across North America. The new products labeled Fooder News, Eco-Bright, Eco-Smooth, Eco-Gloss and Eco-Direct were developed with higher gloss and brightness from standard newsprint to meet the specific demands of retailers.

Some of Canada’s largest retailers have adopted our 100% recycled eco-products, says Booth, and theyre increasingly being tested by major supermarket, hardware and general merchandise retailers.

With receipt of the FSC certification, Atlantic was also recognized as a SmartWood Chain-of-Custody company. SmartWood is a sustainable forestry program of the Rainforest Alliance, and Atlantic Newsprint is now entitled to use the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal (RAC). The FSC and RAC labels complement EcoLogo and Green Seal certification, which Atlantic received a number of years ago. EcoLogo is Canadas well-known environmental certification mark, and Atlantic was the first newsprint company to be awarded the right to have it displayed. Green Seal is a non-profit U.S. environmental organization.

Atlantic Newsprint Company is a division of Atlantic Packaging Products Limited, a privately owned company that has developed a business model based on creating consumer, institutional and industrial paper products from recycled materials. Atlantic Packaging has 22 manufacturing facilities, recycling operations and warehouses, including paper machines, paper box manufacturing facilities, paper and polyethylene bag-making operations, consumer tissue products, and the design, testing, and manufacturing facilities for decorative corrugated packaging. The company employs over 2,500 people in Canada and the U.S., and claims it has never cut down a single tree in its 62 years of making paper products.

For more information: www.atlantic.ca