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Independent non-fiction publisher Canbury Press is to trial a no-plastic production process for a new book on sustainable living.
Going Zero tells the "inspirational" true story of how Kate Hughes decided she’d had enough of throwaway culture and plastic packaging and turned her family’s life upside down by going 100% green, including switching car, energy supplier and financial provider.
To chime with the ethos of the book, the press has commissioned a small family business in Devon, Short Run Press, to print the book using 100% recycled paper, which uses 30-50% less energy, according to the paper’s manufacturer, Revive. There will be no plastic lamination on the paperback’s cover, and copies will be packed into cardboard boxes for transportation, rather than plastic "printers parcels". The only plastic used will be in transportation when boxes are shrink wrapped to protect against rain while in transit.
The UK publishing industry typically prints books using mixed paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which guarantees it is from sustainably managed forests. However, very few books are made using 100% recycled paper even though paper pulp can be re-used between six and eight times before it degrades. Revive paper is manufactured from FSC-certified pulp sources.
“New FSC-certified paper is widely used in the industry and by us, but we wanted to try to see if we could go further and trial more sustainable production," Martin Hickman, managing director of the press said. "It’s fitting for Kate Hughes’ book, because she has shown absolutely no compromise in the way she has changed her family’s lifestyle: she’s an inspiration. We’ll be looking to see if we can roll out this experiment. I’m a bit nervous about how booksellers will view the lack of lamination and I want to see what readers say. It would be good to go further.”
A spokesperson for Short Run Press said: “It has been great to work with Canbury Press. There are other components to a book, not just the paper. We recycle as much as possible – paper, plates, packaging, pallets, not to mention chemical-free plate making. One main thing people ignore when placing work is the method of production, we complete all of our books at our site in Exeter. We do quite a lot on the environmental side without making a big issue."
Going Zero will be published on 31st March.