Friday, 2nd January 2009 - 12:36CET

The Government Gazette goes environmental friendly

Edition 18,361 of the Government Gazette, the first this year, has been printed on recycled paper.

It was the first time that recycled paper was used for the gazette but this will now become the norm.

Parliamentary Secretary for Information Chris Said celebrated the occasion with a visit to the Government Printing Press.

He said that the impact of the new measure was expected to be sizeable since it was published at least twice weekly - 191 editions, incorporating a total of 12,534 pages, were published last year.

These were accompanied by 361 legal notices (4,454 pages), 16 Acts (452 pages), 18 Bills (626 pages), and three local council by-laws (34 pages) The gazette has a print-run of 650 copies bringing the total number of paper up to 11,765,000.

Dr Said said that recycled paper was indistinguishable from normal paper except for occasional small black specks.

He said that paper waste was also being separated and sent for recycling as were spent aluminium plates. Moreover, the packing system for publications has been changed with the introduction of two strapping machines reducing the use of cardboard boxes by 80 per cent.

Director Charles Sammut pointed out that eco-friendliness came at a cost since recycled paper cost, on average, 20 per cent more than normal paper. However, the price was likely to go down with an increase in demand brought about by higher awareness, he said.

Photo: DOI, Clodagh O’Neill

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Monday, November 23, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

T Mifsud (on 2/1/09)

While it is a move in the right direction, more can be done.

Does anybody know that recycled paper was invented to reduce deforestation (in the wake of deforestation awareness of the 80s and 90s) but its manufacture is very ernvironmentally harmful with the use of harsh chemicals such as Chlorine used in bleaching process? To be environmentally friendly the Government needs to state whether the recycling paper process used is Chlorine Free.

Ideally Government Gazette should just be online and thus save hundreds of thousands of Euros in the process of long period.

lgalea (on 2/1/09)

If we really want to be environmentally friendly it should be printed only in Maltese which will mean a reduction of 50% in paper. Whoever would want an English translation or any other language for that matter can then request an official or unofficial translation against payment.

Andrew Azzopardi (on 2/1/09)

The Government Gazette is an official record, Will this recycled paper last as long as the kind of paper used previously? I have seen Gazettes some 150 years in relatively good condition, yellowed, but still intact and legible. The preservation of official records is surely more important than the making of politically-correct gestures.

M. Debono (on 2/1/09)

why not online ONLY?!?! Is there a social obligation to have a hard copy available, too?

Martin Bugelli (on 2/1/09)

Dear Ms Coppini. The Govt Gazzette is available for free on-line on the DOI website. However the print version cannot be done without, as besides the legal obligation (the printed version is the official and legally binding version as it cannot be tampered with), there are still a substantial number of subscribers who for various reasons, opt to subscribe to the printed version, now on recycled paper. You will be happy to note that having the online version available for free on the Department of Information website (www.doi.gov.mt) has meant that from a print run of over 4000 copies up till some time ago, we now print a maximum of 650.

edward bartolo (on 2/1/09)

@Andrea Coppini

I agree with you. The paper that was used was more suitable for books rather than a gazette!

Andrea Coppini (on 2/1/09)

Well done I say, although some 10 years too late.

Govt Gazette should be digital-only. Less tax money, less pollution to transport, less paper to recycle, easier to access....

The Government Gazette goes environmental friendly

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