Lithuanians never cease to amaze: notebooks are made of stone

The start-up founded in Lithuania recently started making rock paper notebooks that are hard to break, don’t get wet, and still protect forests.

Such paper is easy to fold: Manufacturers claim that folding origami from rock paper is easier than traditional paper.

On the other hand, it is suitable for those who constantly have a cup of tea or coffee or a glass of water on their desk and who, having forgotten about the drink, still get caught in their hands and wrap their notes. Rock paper is completely resistant to water and many other liquids, so in theory it could be used even underwater. Moist notes just need to dry.

The pioneers are Australians.

The new company, which started producing Roca notebooks, is not new to the market. In 2014, the same team created the brand “Esquoia” (which is probably the anagram of the world’s oldest tree redwood in English: sequoia). Behind are notebooks that can be called timeless because they are made of laminated paper, so the notes can simply be cleaned and rewritten on the same sheet.

According to Albinas Kirkilas, marketing manager of the new company rocastonepaper.com, these laptops have already spread worldwide, but it has been decided to continue looking for environmentally friendly solutions.

“The rock paper market is still in its infancy, but we have decided to demonstrate to the world that it is not necessary to cut trees and wastewater to produce paper.” We launched Roca Stonepaper just a month ago, but we are already receiving a large number of orders not only for the production of simple notebooks, but also for commercial adaptations. ”

Such notebooks are a novelty in Lithuania, but not in the world. Various stone paper manufacturers can be found online. An Australian company had already started producing similar laptops. Its founders discovered rock paper by chance while on vacation in Taiwan. There Kevin García and John Tse saw that this paper is used to pack food because, unlike conventional material, it is impervious to water. Driven by curiosity, the men visited a stone-paper factory and decided that it could be used not only in industry but also by ordinary people.

In the couple of years since 2017, when they founded Karst Stone Paper, they have received more than 70,000. customers in more than 80 countries.

Recyclable but as plastic

Last but not least, both Australian and Lithuanian initiators had an environmental aspect. To produce a ton of plain paper requires between 18 and 24 trees and 11,134 kWh of energy (both average American households consume in 10 months). It takes about 370ml of water to make a plain sheet of paper, which we sometimes throw away after printing just a few lines, more than can fit in a standard can of carbonated beverages. Producing a ton of paper emits 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide into the air.

As A. Kirkilas told the blog Euroblogas.lt, stone paper does not need to cut down trees or waste water. 85% is consumed for its production. less energy. Trees preserved in this way are said to supply oxygen to at least 40 people a year. The aforementioned Australian company Karst Stone Paper goes further: they use the most amount of solar energy in the production process.

This paper is made of stone, or rather limestone, the simplest construction waste. This waste is collected from construction and quarrying industry waste by Stone Stonepaper’s paper partners. Limestone is crushed into powder and converted to calcium carbonate, which is one of the most abundant resources in the world, accounting for 80 percent. stone paper In the production of plain paper, acids and chlorine are used to bleach it. Chemicals are not used in the production of stone paper, as limestone is naturally white.

The remaining 20 percent. It is a non-toxic resin that appears to stick to dust and allow it to become paper, rather than a remnant powder that would be easily blown away by the wind. “The binder is currently pure plastic: HDPE, the extremely small amount of which helps to combine the limestone powder into extremely smooth, white sheets of paper,” said A. Kirkilas.

This synthetic plastic, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), which is made from natural gas by-products, casts doubt on whether stone paper is truly eco-friendly. Laptop manufacturers claim they can be recycled (not just sheets, but also covers that are also made from rock paper). But it should not be disposed of with waste paper, but with plastic waste. And burning rock paper does not emit toxic gases.

HDPE is one of the most common plastics in the world and is used on a daily basis, often without even knowing it. It can be found in tetrapacks and shampoo bottles, fuel tanks, sturdy hats, etc. This polyethylene forms an important part of the plastic vortices formed in the oceans. HDPE is classified as a type 2 plastic that is generally recyclable. That is why rock paper should not be mixed with plain paper.

It can also decompose in sunlight: if the sun shines for at least 10 hours a day, a 200 micron thick sheet decomposes like an eggshell in a year and a half. Admittedly, it is unclear what happens to HDPE components during this process. Also, rock paper will not naturally degrade if it is not exposed to sunlight. As one journalist joked, sensitivity to light means that unfinished memories left in the sun on a car dashboard can perish.

Paper records will be erased by hot weather

Although a stone block the size of a book weighs much more than it weighs, according to A. Kirkilas, stone paper notebooks are only slightly heavier than the usual ones of the same size: 10-15 percent. The cover has a meaning: if the brochure is smooth, the difference may not be noticeable.

You can write on stone paper with various pens: simple and gel pens, pencils, crayons. Unless inkjet pens can cause problems, as this paper is waterproof and does not absorb liquid, you must wait for the ink to dry before turning the next sheet.

Manufacturers boast that printing on rock paper requires 15-20 percent. less ink However, it is not suitable for laser printers: the heat would affect the plastic.

Rock paper is softer and softer than normal, made of small wood fibers, and has noticeable bumps. Those who have tried rock paper say that it is more pleasant to write on, the pen slides more easily.

Rolls of stone paper bought by the beginner become not only notebooks, but also other products: bags, boxes, maps, advertising brochures, sticky notes. It is true that most of their sales are in notebooks.

“At the beginning of the exchange, we thought that the stone books would not be relevant to Lithuanians (after all, they were slightly more expensive than ordinary books and were not ‘listened to’), admitted A. Kirkilas. – However, the Lithuanians are very pleasantly surprised, we constantly receive orders from various corners of Lithuania and companies ordering the printing of stone books with the company logo. It is great fun to get support! “

The interlocutor is convinced that rock paper is the product of the future. “Rock paper can replace traditional paper in practically all areas,” he hoped.

Notebook manufacturers have more ideas about sustainable consumption and the environment. They promise to start selling pens soon, the notes of which can simply “blow up” with a hair dryer and rewrite them on the same sheets. At the same time, we are looking for alternative binders that are completely organic. Corn derived material is an option, although a long series of tests would be necessary to adapt it.