Paper Recycling

Why Paper Recycling ?

Paper Recycling: Recycling all types of paper and purchasing recycled paper products reduces the use of energy, water and raw materials that go into paper production. Reducing paper waste There are many ways to reduce your paper use. Think before printing -do as many things as you can on -screen, such as reviewing, editing and completing forms. Use both sides of every sheet of paper. Set printers to default to double - sided and re- use the reverse side of single –printed pages. Used envelopes can be also be written on as note-paper. Avoid junk mail by using a ‘No Junk Mail’ sticker.

In 2011, 66.8 percent of paper consumed in the United States was recycled. Every ton of paper recycled saves more than 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, and if you measure by weight, more paper is recovered for recycling than plastic, aluminum and glass combined. Paper is a material that we're used to recycling, since 87 percent of us have access to curbside or drop-off recycling for paper.

Additionally, 76 percent of paper mills used some recovered paper in 2011, so the paper you throw into the bin is finding its way into plenty of new products. The process of recycling old paper into new paper might sound like it would be complex, but in reality, it's pretty straight forward. If you're feeling ambitious, you could even try to recreate this process yourself using everything from old wrapping paper to junk mail. On an industrial scale, though, paper recycling allows us to save both energy and resources. By recycling one ton of paper we save 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water and 463 gallons of oil, according to the EPA. Keep reading to find out how the process works and how you can make sure you recycle paper correctly.

When paper breaks down in landfill it creates methane, a major greenhouse gas with the global warming capacity 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Manufacturing paper and cardboard products from recycled material not only conserves trees, it also uses up to 50% less energy and 90% less water than making them from raw materials. It is important not only to recycle your paper, but also to purchase recycled paper products. These days, good quality office and printing paper, as well as many other papers products are available with recycled paper content of up to 100%.For every 100 reams of recycled office paper that is printed doubled sided, the savings are estimated at two trees, more than one tonne of greenhouse gases and almost a cubic meter of landfill space, compared with using 100 reams of non-recycled paper or printing single-sided.

How to recycle paper ?

Most local councils collect household paper products for recycling in their kerbside collection. This includes writing paper, paper packaging, envelopes with and without plastic windows, telephone books, magazine s and newspapers. Keep paper free of food scraps and plastic, which can contaminate the process of recycling. Used tissues and paper that has been contaminated with food scraps can be recycled using a worm farm, bokashi bucket or compost heap. Cardboard can also be recycled.

What happens to the paper?

Recycling paper begins by breaking down the product using either chemical or mechanical means to free the fibers and create pulp. The pulp is re-manufactured into paper products in a similar way to first production paper. The waste products left over from the recycling process (ink, short fibers and plastics) are collectively called “sludge” and are either sent into landfill, burnt for energy or used as fertilizer. There are numerous companies in Australia that recycle and re-manufacture paper onshore. Paper can be recycled into many things including office paper, packaging, toilet paper, egg cartons, soundproofing, furniture and cardboard. Paper can be recycled up to eight times. Once the paper has been recycled as many times as possible, it is turned into organic waste and breaks down.