Paper and Cardboard Recycling
The recycling of paper and cardboard is the process of cardboard and paper wastes recovery, that are already used, to transform them into new products. There are three categories of paper and cardboard that can be used as raw material for recycling: ground up, pre-consume wastes, and post-consume wastes. The group up material are cuts and pieces that come from manufacturing processes. The pre-consume wastes are materials that have passed through the paper and cardboard manufacturers, and that have been discarded before being prepared for consume. The post-consume are used paper and cardboard materials that the consumer discards, such as packages, boxes, magazines, newspaper, office material, phone books, etc.
Actual Recycling Process
Paper and cardboard are recycled reducing them to a paste and combining them with new paste generated from wood. Since the recycling process causes the rupture of the fibers, each time that the paper or cardboard is recycled the quality of the material reduces, that is why it is important to prepare the mix of the short fiber with some of the recovered long fiber material to give it a bigger strength and quality, thus to the finished product.
Almost any type of paper and cardboard can be recycled today, although some of them are harder to manage than others. The papers that are covered in plastic or aluminum, and the waxed paper, sticky or gummed are normally not recycled because of the high cost of the process. Also, the gift wrapping papers are not recycled because of their poor quality. Sometimes, the recycling plants ask for the shinny parts of the newspapers to be withdrawn, because it is a different type of paper. They have a clay coating that some manufacturers can’t work. Most of the clay is withdrawn from the paste and recycled as mud. |
Reasons to Recycle.
The paper industry has an impact on the environment, both in previous activities (where the raw materials are acquired and processed), and in posterior activities (impact of the elimination of wastes). The paper and cardboard recycling reduces this impact. Today, the 90% of paper and cardboard paste comes from wood. The paper and cardboard production represents approximately a 45% of logged trees, implying the 1.2% of the total world production volume.
Recycling a ton of newspaper saves approximately a ton of wood, while recycling a ton of printed paper or of copies saves more than 2 tons. This happens because the manufacturing of paste requires the double of wood for withdrawing the lignin and producing better quality fibers that with the mechanical manufacturing processes. The relationship between the tons of recycled paper and the number of saved trees is not banal, since the size of the trees varies and it is the main factor in the quantity of paper than can be obtained from a determined number of them.
The most part of paper and cardboard paste manufacturers implement a reforestation for ensuring a continuous paper supply. In Canada, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certify that the paper made from logged trees adjusts to the guides of acting, assuring good forest practices. It is estimated that recycling half of the world’s paper would avoid the logging of 20 millions of hectares (81.000 km²) of forest.
Recycling a ton of newspaper saves approximately a ton of wood, while recycling a ton of printed paper or of copies saves more than 2 tons. This happens because the manufacturing of paste requires the double of wood for withdrawing the lignin and producing better quality fibers that with the mechanical manufacturing processes. The relationship between the tons of recycled paper and the number of saved trees is not banal, since the size of the trees varies and it is the main factor in the quantity of paper than can be obtained from a determined number of them.
The most part of paper and cardboard paste manufacturers implement a reforestation for ensuring a continuous paper supply. In Canada, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certify that the paper made from logged trees adjusts to the guides of acting, assuring good forest practices. It is estimated that recycling half of the world’s paper would avoid the logging of 20 millions of hectares (81.000 km²) of forest.
As a resume, some of the reasons for recycling paper and cardboard are the saving of:
For each ton of recycled paper or cardboard, comparing it with the production of that same ton of virgin cardboard or paper. |