Pulp and Paper Pollution Prevention Partnership
The Pollution Prevention Partnership: Nine Years of Continuous Environmental Improvement in Wisconsin's Paper Industry

In 1993 the Wisconsin Paper Council and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) agreed to cooperatively reduce environmental emissions throughout the paper industry in Wisconsin. The Partnership was formally created when the paper industry invited the DNR to work with them on a program committed to finding cost-effective ways to reduce or eliminate potentially harmful byproducts from the paper manufacturing process.

The Pollution Prevention Partnership is a voluntary program. It represents the paper industry's willingness to work with the DNR to operate its facilities "beyond regulatory minimums" and annually demonstrate continuous environmental improvement.

Through the Pollution Prevention Partnership, the DNR along with the Paper Council is strongly committed to innovative pollution prevention strategies. The Partnership is an impressive undertaking, including 25 firms and 42 facilities, which demonstrates an entire industry working cooperatively with the state to raise the bar in terms of environmental performance.

In 1994 the DNR and the Paper Council worked together to develop an effective method for annual progress reports showing industry releases. The results have shown that not only are Wisconsin papermakers the national leaders in production, but they are also the national leaders of environmental stewardship!

The most recent data compiled by the paper industry, and verified by the DNR, reveals an impressive record of accomplishment: a record of continuous environmental improvement over the past nine years.

• In baseline year 1992, the paper industry's process-related releases totaled 102,075,403 pounds. In 2000, the total was 41,975,896 pounds- a drop of 60,099,507 pounds.
• During that same period, production increased about 1,099,000 tons or almost 13 percent.
• Calculated on a per ton of production basis, the paper industry's process related releases to the environment declined from 11.67 pounds per ton or production in 1992 to 4.27 pounds in 2000. This is a decrease of 7.4 pounds or 63.4 percent.

The Pollution Prevention Partnership has successfully achieved its overall goal of reducing or eliminating unwanted byproducts from the paper manufacturing process. The past nine years have proven that a cooperative and voluntary approach can indeed improve environmental practices and reduce harmful emissions.

For more information on the Pollution Prevention Partnership and current annual reports please contact the DNR or the WI Paper Council.