I think they're using it colloquially: you can "break down" trees in to paper, even though the paper technically requires reassembly and further processing from

I think they're using it colloquially: you can "break down" trees in to paper, even though the paper technically requires reassembly and further processing from the most deconstructed tree step. But it is a phrase that the average layperson would take as "simpler things made from the raw ingredients by the processors", rather than a direct deconstruction pathway. It's a common problem when technical language collides with a common term or phrase, because most articles will mean the common one and send pendants in to a fit.