Product Code Database
Paper recycling is the process by which waste paper is turned into new paper products. After repeated processing the fibres become too short for the production of new paper, which is why virgin fibre (from sustainably farmed trees) is frequently added to the pulp recipe.
Waste paper recycling most often involves mixing used/old paper with water and chemicals to break it down. Three categories of paper can be used as feedstocks for making recycled paper: mill broke, pre-consumer waste, and post-consumer waste. The industrial process of removing printing ink from paper fibres of recycled paper to make deinked pulp is called deinking, an invention of the German jurist Justus Claproth.
Recycling of paper saves waste paper from occupying the homes of people and producing methane as it breaks down. Industrialized papermaking affects the environment where raw materials are acquired and processed with waste-disposal impacts.
The industrial process of removing printing ink from paper fibres of recycled paper to make deinked pulp is called deinking, an invention of the German jurist Justus Claproth. The share of ink in a wastepaper stock is up to about 2% of the total weight.R. McKinney: Technology of Paper Recycling, 1995, p. 351.
In the mid-19th century, there was an increased demand for books and writing material. Up to that time, paper manufacturers had used discarded linen rags for paper, but supply could not keep up with the increased demand. Books were bought at auctions to recycle fibre content into new paper, at least in the United Kingdom, by the beginning of the 19th century.
Industrialized papermaking affects the environment both upstream (where raw materials are acquired and processed) and downstream (waste-disposal impacts).Hershkowitz, A. (2002). Bronx ecology. Washington DC: Island Press. p. 62
In 2023, 92% of pulp was made from wood sources (in most modern mills only 9–16% of pulp is made from pulp logs; the rest comes from waste wood that was traditionally burnt). Paper production accounts for about 35% of felled trees. Recycling one ton of newsprint saves about 1 ton of wood while recycling 1 ton of printing or copier paper saves slightly more than 2 tons of wood. This is because Kraft process requires twice as much wood since it removes lignin to produce higher quality fibres than mechanical pulping processes. Relating tons of paper recycled to the number of trees not cut is meaningless, since tree size varies tremendously and is the major factor in how much paper can be made from how many trees. In addition, trees raised specifically for pulp production account for 16% of world pulp production, old growth forests 9% and second- and third- and more generation forests account for the balance. Most pulp mill operators practice reforestation to ensure a continuing supply of trees. The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certify paper made from trees harvested according to guidelines meant to ensure good forestry practices. Both policies settle on a different ratio of stringency to reasonable output of goods, and are thus preferred by varying parties.
| +Recycling rate for paper ! Region !! 2023 |
| 79.3% |
| 57.1% |
| 68.2% |
| 48.2% |
| 39.5% |
| 61.6% |
/ref> It was believed that the paper recycling rate in the EU could not surpass 78% under the pre-2023 model. Despite this, Europe's recycling rate increased to 79.3% recycling rate in 2023, due to a decrease in paper consumption. In 2022, 19 European countries exceeded a 70% recycling rate, while 4 countries had a recycling rate below 60%.
By 1998, some 9,000 curbside recycling programs and 12,000 recyclable drop-off centers existed nationwide. As of 1999, 480 materials recovery facilities had been established to process the collected materials.
In 2008, the Great Recession caused the price of old newspapers to drop in the U.S. from $130 to $40 per short ton ($140/t to $45/t) in October.Page, Candace, Waste district raises recycling fees, Burlington Free Press, 12 November 2008
In 2018, paper and paperboard accounted for 67.39 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in the U.S., down from more than 87.74 million tons in 2000. As of 2018, paper products are still the largest component of MSW generated in the United States, making up 23% by weight. While paper is the most commonly recycled material (68.2 percent of paper waste was recovered in 2018, up from 33.5 percent in 1990) it is being used less overall than at the turn of the century. How textbooks become toilet paper: A Birmingham recycling center moves beyond newsprint and cans, AL.com, Jon Reed, 1 December 2014 As of 2018, paper accounted for a third of all recyclables collected in the US, by weight. The widespread adoption of the internet and email has led to a change in the composition of the waste paper stream, with junk mail becoming a larger part of the materials collected, as reading of newspapers and writing of personal letters declines.
India
After China put restrictions on waste imports in January 2018, much paper was being shipped to India. However, India's domestic recycling only produces 30% of the total paper demand. India seeks to increase this percentage to follow its rising literacy rates, and environmental factors and limited access to renewable forests put further pressure on this desire. Discussion on possible administrative options is in effect. Recycled paper is economically favorable when forests are in short supply.
Mexico
In Mexico, recycled paper, rather than wood pulp, was the principal feedstock in paper mills accounting for about 90% of raw materials in 2020.
South Africa
In 2018, South Africa recovered 1.285 million tonnes of recyclable paper products, putting the country's paper recovery rate at 71.7%. More than 90% of this recovered paper is used for the local beneficiation of new paper packaging and tissue.
Limitations and effects
Along with fibres, paper can contain a variety of inorganic and organic constituents, including up to 10,000 different chemicals, which can potentially contaminate the newly manufactured paper products. As an example, bisphenol A (a chemical commonly found in thermal paper) has been verified as a contaminant in a variety of paper products resulting from paper recycling. Groups of chemicals as , phenols, , polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and toxic metals have all been identified in paper material. Although several measures might reduce the chemical load in paper recycling (e.g., improved decontamination, optimized collection of paper for recycling), even completely terminating the use of a particular chemical (phase-out) might still result in its circulation in the paper cycle for decades.
See also
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