Why Recycle ?
Recovered paper is a valuable raw material that can
be reused to create new paper and board products. Paper
recovery is preferably to landfill or incineration for
energy recovery. |
What can be recycled ?
Almost any household paper can be recycled, including
used newspapers, cardboard, packaging, stationery, ‘direct
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. |
Why can there be no 100%
recycling rate ?
Some paper products are not collectable and/or recyclable.
The share of such paper products, which consist for
example cigarette papers, wall papers, tissue papers
and archives, is estimated to be about 15-20% of the
total paper consumption. Further to that, it might not
be economically or environmentally sound to collect
and recycle everything that in theory would be possible
because this would require heavy transportation. |
How many times can paper
be recycled ?
Depending a bit on the paper grade we are talking about,
it can be recycled to 4-6 times. |
Would it be possible to
use only recovered paper in paper production?
Basically all paper grades can be produced based entirely
on recovered paper. But, because paper cannot be recycled
endlessly, the system requires a constant flow of virgin
fibres to operate. |
Is it possible to mix
recovered and virgin fibres?
Yes it is, and it is done broadly. Obviously, most of
the paper products can be produced using only recovered
or virgin fibres, but it is also possible to use both
at the same time. |
How is used paper collected?
The way of collecting recovered paper depends on its
source. From big industrial and commercial sources the
amounts are so high that they have dedicated collection
equipment of their own. For households, paper that is
intended for recycling is collected separately, i.e.
not together with normal household waste. In some countries,
recyclable materials like paper and board packaging,
plastics packaging, etc. are collected together. Some
countries collect old newspapers and magazines separately
from paper and board packaging.. |
How can a normal citizen
contribute to increase paper recycling rates?
The most important thing that normal citizens can do
is to bring used paper to collection – whatever
the local system is – and keep it separate from
wastes like food waste etc. As said, when mixed with
wastes mentioned above, used paper would not be suitable
for recycling any longer. |
Does recycling save trees?
Paper recycling means that natural resources are used
in an efficient way and it contributes to sustainable
development. Paper put on landfills would really be
waste. However, as explained above, paper cannot be
recycled indefinitely, and a flow of virgin fibres is
always needed. Forests, when managed in a sustainable
way, form a source of renewable resources, and consuming
renewable resources instead of non-renewable ones makes
sense. |
What are the sources of
recovered paper?
The biggest source of recovered paper is formed by industry
and businesses - 52%. That covers also converting losses
(cuttings, shavings) and returns of unsold newspapers
and magazines. Some 10% comes from offices, and the
remaining 38% from households. |
