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Changing Recovered Paper Into New
Every day throughout the world, paper and cardboard are put to all manner of uses. There are four main group classifications for paper and cardboard: graphic paper; paper and cardboard for packaging; sanitary paper, and specialist paper and cardboard. Apart from sanitary paper, all paper and cardboard can be recycled, making it available for reuse for other purposes. However, paper and cardboard cannot be endlessly recycled; once it has been recycled for the fifth or sixth time, the fibres no longer have the strength necessary to create new paper and cardboard. Therefore, with the environment in mind, it is important for households, the public sector and the business world to set aside as much of their waste paper and cardboard as possible, thus enabling it to be recycled and reused. An explanation of the recycling process follows below.Waste paper and cardboard from households, the public sector and the business world is collected together in a variety of different containers. These containers are periodically emptied by a specialist firm or the local council. Once this paper and cardboard had been assembled, it is separated out according to type. This is done both by those firms responsible for collecting the material as well as by companies specialising in this field. All waste matter, such as plastic, has to be separated from the paper and cardboard. Next, it is sorted according to its particular type – for the various types, please refer to the Inventory on this website. Once sorting has been done, the material can be delivered to the factories, which then turn it into new paper and cardboard for a multitude of purposes. Waste paper can be supplied to the paper mills either loose or else in bales.
The waste paper and cardboard is first pulped; this pulp is mixed with water and chemicals. If necessary, the material is de-inked as well. The paper mills can also make pulp from wood, which is then referred to as cellulose. They are also able to make a mixture from the waste paper and cardboard plus wood. Afterwards, the pulp needs time to thicken, after which it goes on to be pressed, thus creating a high-quality substance. Fillers and auxiliary materials are then added to this to improve quality. Next, it is sprayed onto a straining cloth, pressed and heated to remove the water from the pulp. After this, the paper passes through the rollers of a cutting machine, which makes new rolls of paper and cardboard.
The new rolls of paper and cardboard can be put to countless uses, such as packaging, newspapers, magazines and toilet paper. Once used, the whole process starts up again and is sometimes referred to as ‘downcycling