Paper recycling - an example of sustainability
The paper industry has recycled used paper and board for over 600 years. After using rags for centuries, wood became the main raw material source for papermaking in the 19th century. In recent decades, used paper has become an increasingly important raw material source and, compared to many other materials, is easy to recycle.
What can be recycled?
Almost any paper can be recycled including used newspapers, cardboard, packaging, stationery, postal mail, magazines, catalogues, greeting cards and wrapping paper. It is important that these papers are kept separate from other household waste as contaminated papers are not acceptable for recycling.
 |
| provided courtesy of SCA Graphic Sundsvall AB |
Recycling makes sense
The collection and recycling of used paper makes sense. The use of recovered paper for new paper products gives the wood fibre an extended life cycle. Recovered fibres are an essential raw material for the paper industry so recovered paper should not be considered as waste, but as a secondary raw material.
The selection of the raw material source depends on the availability of fresh fibres or recovered paper. In countries with a low population density and plentiful forest resources, paper is produced predominantly from virgin fibres. In countries with a dense population and therefore the ability to collect used paper more easily, the paper industry depends mostly on recovered paper. This is sometimes described as ‘the urban forest’ as opposed to the ‘natural forest’.
Recycling and the use of recovered paper to manufacture new paper are only possible if virgin fibres are continuously introduced in the recycling process. The fibres obtained from wood are reused four to six times and processed to form new paper products. The recycling of paper is a perfect example of the paper industry's sustainable use of resources.
 |
Market structure
The collection of used paper and board is the first step in the recycling
process. There are different national and regional collection systems for
paper. Papermakers usually buy their raw material for recycling from recovered
paper merchants. These merchants may be owned by paper mills and be an
integrated part of a mill company, or they may be an independent firm which
specialises in particular grades or which perhaps operates in a smaller
geographical area. In Europe, a small but growing amount of waste paper
is now being supplied by waste management companies which are finding it
economically advantageous to sort recovered paper for recycling. This is
helping to reduce the amount of paper going for landfill.
Until recently, apart from old newspapers and magazines, most recovered
paper came from industrial and commercial sources, because it was the
easiest, cleanest and most economical to collect. But demand for recovered
paper is set to grow substantially, so additional sources like households
need to be tapped.
The collecting system in operation must be cost-effective and efficiently
organised so that the necessary volumes and qualities of recovered paper
can be obtained and appropriately recycled. The paper mills that depend
on recovered paper must have assurance of a regular supply. In Europe,
an average of 56% of used paper is recovered.
Paper for recycling has to be collected separately from other materials.
If, in some cases, paper is collected together with other recyclable
materials, such recovered paper must be specifically marked. The requirements
of the users must also be taken into account: a packaging manufacturer
can use mixed grades of recovered paper while a manufacturer of graphic
paper can only use certain recovered paper grades.
The recycling process
Broadly speaking, the final production process for recycling paper is the
same as the process used for paper made from virgin fibres but, as the
recovered paper fibres have already been used, they have to be cleaned.
 |
As a first step, recovered paper is sorted and graded then delivered to a paper mill. Having reached the paper mill, it is ‘slushed’ into pulp and large non-fibrous contaminants are removed (for example staples, plastic, glass etc.). The fibres are progressively cleaned and then the pulp is filtered and screened through a number of cycles to make it more suitable for papermaking.
For certain uses (like the production of graphic and hygienic papers) the fibres have to be de-inked.
The pulp is then ready to be made into paper. Depending on the grade of paper being produced, quantities of virgin pulp from sustainable sources may be added. Some papers, such as newsprint and corrugated materials, can be made from 100% recycled paper. Once the paper is used, it can be recycled and the process starts again.
Not all paper can be recovered
There are paper products that cannot be either collected or recycled. The portion of such paper products, which consist, for example, of cigarette papers, wallpaper, tissue papers and archives, is estimated to be about 19% of the total paper consumption.
In addition to non-collectable and non-recyclable paper products, it would not be economically or environmentally sound to collect and recycle everything that, in theory, would be possible because this would require heavy transportation.
Different grades of recovered paper and board
There are different grades of recovered paper and board to satisfy the needs of different producers, according to strict specifications. For example, it is not possible to take mixed recovered paper consisting of different paper grades (newspapers, cartons, corrugated boxes) to make printing and writing paper. Mixed recovered paper is best used in packaging grades.
More than 50 grades of recovered paper and board are defined in the European Standard EN634.
| They can be described as follows: | ||
 |
Low grades (mixed papers, old corrugated containers, board etc.) constitute the main part of the recovered paper consumed. These are used to produce packaging papers and boards.. | |
|
Deinking grades (newspapers and magazine, graphic papers etc.) are usually also considered as low grades. These are for graphic and sanitary papers.. | |
|
High grades (scraps, sheets, print off-cuts etc.) require little or no cleaning. They can be used for the production of any paper product as pulp substitute. | |
Paper recycling is important for industry
Recovered paper is an important raw material in terms of volume and utilisation for the paper industry in many countries. In Europe, for example, the average utilisation rate for paper was 47.5% in 2002. This means that for each kilogram (kg) of new paper produced in Europe, 0.47kg of used paper is consumed as a raw material.
 |
Modern recycling processes require little energy and the auxiliary materials involved are environmentally compatible. The contraries (the pins, staples, adhesives etc.) removed during the recycling process create a ‘sludge’ which may be burned for energy recovery, put into landfill or used for other industrial purposes; they can be used as raw materials for other industries (for example land construction) or they can be spread on agricultural land.
New pulp still needed
Although recycling is both economically and ecologically sound, recovered paper cannot be efficiently used in all paper grades, nor can it be used indefinitely. Two things must be borne in mind:
| Strength: | Strength: Every time a fibre is recycled, it loses some of its strength. After being reused several times, it is it no longer useful for papermaking.. |
| Quality: | Quality: While most, if not all, paper and board grades could be made of 100% recovered paper, they might need top quality recovered paper, (like clippings and shavings from printers) which is not widely available. Some paper and board grades make little or no use of recovered fibre because certain qualities are better and more economically provided by virgin pulp. This is partly due to the quality requirements of the end-product, such as high-grade artwork, and partly the technical characteristics needed for many special purpose grades, such as security paper.. |
 |
Why can't we recycle more?
There are some technical limitations to recycling. Recovered paper cannot be recycled forever as the fibres wear out so they can only be recycled five or six times. Virgin fibres are a major component in the papermaking chain. If they were not constantly introduced into the system, paper manufactures would soon grind to a halt. Paper recycling also contributes to ensuring the fibre-supply satisfies an expanding demand on various paper products.
Recycling does not reduce the number of trees cut
One often sees the claim that recycling reduces the number of trees cut. This does not give the full picture. The papermaker often uses the part of the tree that cannot be used for other commercial purposes (such as construction or furniture making) or forest thinnings and sawmill by-products. The trees used for papermaking are not glorious oaks. They are usually spruce or pine trees and are replaced by forest-owners for industrial purposes in greater numbers than they are harvested. Tropical rainforest trees aren’t even suitable for papermaking.
More information on this can be found in the section on Forestry.
