Stone paper – how to make it even more environmentally friendly?
Image from Podrobno.uz
Podrobno.uz. reports that in Fergana, Uzbekistan Saykal limited liability company and the Chinese company Henan GX-Mach environmental technology co. Ltd established Uzbek-Chinese enterprise Fergana stone paper company, which will be producing paper from stone.
According to the initiator of the project, Abdurakhmon Niyozov, the paper making process will cause no harm to the environment because the production process will use only simple stone and calcium.
For sure, paper made of stone, durable and resistant to stains, but it is not as environmentally friendly as the initiator notes. The composition of stone paper is 80% stone and calcium. And to bind stone and calcium HDPE – high-density plastic is used. Using this type of non-degradable plastic means that the product is not 100% environmentally friendly.
However, if the company will use renewable energy for production and have facilities to recycle the HDPE, the stone paper could be one of the most environmentally friendly product. Besides, the stone company production could use and recycle plastic waste and also leftovers from the construction industry such as limestone and marble.
If the production process is well thought out, it could stop the excess tree logging and improve the environment in Uzbekistan. Hopefully, Fergana stone production company will take into account all these important points.​