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Reach for Unbleached! Pulp & Paper
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Reach for Unbleached! works for a sustainable pulp and paper industry,
by making mills clean up and by promoting clean paper.
Reach for Unbleached! empowers people to change the technology by
which paper is manufactured, through consumer education and the use
of accurate scientific information. We believe that people will choose to
change from polluting to non-polluting products, if they are given
practical information on which to act, and shown accessible avenues for
that action.
We believe that this action by citizens is the best hope, and maybe the
only hope, for a speedy end to toxic contamination of our watersheds.
Reach for Unbleached! is a national foundation, and a Canadian
registered charity.
History
Reach for Unbleached! started in 1991 in response to dioxin
contamination of shellfish beds by pulp mills bleaching with chlorine
compounds. Along with consumer education in Canada, we immediately
2. focused on networking with American environmental organizations,
because the American market is crucial to Canadian pulp mills.
By 1993 Reach for Unbleached! had encouraged the formation of Reach
for Unbleached! campaigns in Washington and Oregon, and promoted
numerous displays and events in Canada. Some of our other notable
accomplishments:
MillWatch workshops: During 1996, workshops on mill monitoring,
with representations from government, industry, workers, and First
Nations, were held in ten towns across BC. The workshops were funded
by the Bullitt and Brainerd Foundations and Environment Canada, with
contributions from participating mills in all towns. The resulting
information was published as the Citizens' Handbook on Pulp Mill
Monitoring in January 1997.
Tissue Issue campaign: A two year effort to promote the use of
household and institutional tissues made from recycled fibre without
secondary chlorine bleaching which led to the re-introduction of a
chlorine-free and recycled toilet paper in mainstream stores in British
Columbia, Canada.
Bulk Paper Buying Club: A partnership with Paper Choice, a small
business, to lower the cost of recycled chlorine-free office paper and
prove that a viable market exists for more eco-friendly paper. Order
deadlines are Feb 28, May 31, Aug 31, & Nov 15.
Zero Discharge: Technological Progress Towards Eliminating Kraft
Pulp Mill Liquid Effluent, Minimising Remaining Waste Streams and
Advancing Worker Safety , an extensive scientific and technical
literature review assessing the best technology available for sustainable
kraft pulp production, published in 1998.
Pollution Prevention Report Card: a flow chart of pollution
prevention technology and steps for kraft and other pulp and paper mills,
now in pilot stage for community use.
3. MillWatch is our bimonthly newsletter with news and views for all those
interested in clean pulp and paper production.
The Pulp Pollution Primer, published in October 1999, explains the
basics of pulp pollution, our vision for a cleaner future and explores
ways to get there. The Primer is also available in pdf format.
The Pulp Info Centre We maintain a searchable database of scientific
and technical articles relating to pulp pollution and solutions which
helps us answer over a hundred information requests a month. Find out
what resources exist to answer tough questions.
The Reach for Unbleached! Web Page receives over 30,000 hits a
month.
Our Lead Staff
Delores Broten, Senior Policy Advisor
Delores works on toxics issues nationally. She is founder and past
Executive Director of this organization, and has served on numerous
boards including the Georgia Strait Alliance, and BC Environmental
Network Educational Foundation and is currently on the Board of LEAS
(Labour Enviro Alliance Society). She is also volunteer editor of the
highly respected Watershed Sentinel, a bimonthly environmental news
magazine with a circulation of 3,000.
Jay Ritchlin, Program Director (and Pollution Prevention Researcher)
Jay worked on the 1997 Natural Resources Council of Maine's campaign
to ban the use of chlorine compounds in pulp bleaching. He is the co-
author of the 1998 report, Zero Discharge: Technological Progress
Towards Eliminating Kraft Pulp Mill Liquid Effluent, Minimising
Remaining Waste Streams and Advancing Worker Safety and has a wide
knowledge of current technical developments. Jay has works with mill
management, workers, communities and scientists to create awareness
and reduce pollution.
4. How Can I Help? - Simple things YOU can do to make pulp mills clean
up and promote clean paper.
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