It is widely known from scientific literature that recycling paper is a cost-efficient way of conserving the environment and promoting sustainability. It produces almost 73% less pollution when compared to manufacturing regular paper using virgin fibres.
Paper is also one of the most recyclable products since it is biodegradable and made from plant materials. It can go through six or seven cycles of recycling before its fibres become too small to be recycled further.
Having covered the Waste Collection & Manufacturing Processes involved in recycled paper manufacturing, let us now look at how the manufactured recycled paper is distributed.
The Distribution Process
Following the sorting of the collected waste paper and the subsequent de-inking and whitening of the pulp, the pulp is dried to produce purified and decontaminated paper fibres. Using rollers, these fibres are then wound into jumbo reels of thin sheets of recycled paper. These reels can weigh as much as 50 tonnes and can be over 50 metres long!
However, it is important to note that the paper mills should perform real-time quality checks during the whole manufacturing process in order to be able to produce high-quality paper at par with regular paper. For this, samples should be taken to quality control laboratories to detect any imperfections at regular intervals throughout the process.
Once these jumbo reels are ready and dry, they are then trimmed and rolled into smaller rolls and sent to different end-product manufacturers. These recycled rolls are then used to make the final products - for industrial, office or home purposes.
The finished paper rolls are packed by the paper mills in an efficient way that minimises damage during transit. Bar code labels are placed on each roll and the final products are then stored in godowns till dispatch.
Once there is demand, the final material is loaded into trucks or containers and post the issue of a Tax invoice, dispatched for delivery to the end product manufacturers like Rescript.
It is at this stage that the recycled paper rolls are converted into products for end-user consumption like cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, toilet paper, tissue rolls, notebooks and office paper, among others.
Issues with Recycling Paper
There are two major issues affecting the recycled paper industry - contamination and market rates for recycled paper.
Contamination:
Contamination falls under two categories – out-throws and prohibitive materials. Out-throws are any contaminants that can be picked out during the recycling process. Prohibitive materials, by contrast, cannot be physically separated and generally include chemical contaminants that require further processing.
Since contamination can directly affect fibre strength and length - the fewer the contaminants, the better. Both kinds of contaminants can damage recycling equipment or lower the quality of the finished recycled paper. Therefore, most recycling paper mills allow a strict, limited percentage of contaminants on the raw materials they receive.
Market Rate:
Market rate difficulties are related to the willingness of producers to buy the finished recycled paper. In general, virgin fibre costs almost the same as recycled fibre. Therefore, the final products need to be of similar quality. Fewer contaminants imply that the recycled paper is comparable in quality and price to regular paper, making it more market viable. However, a higher degree of contaminants can reduce the quality of the final recycled product and make it less desirable.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that recycling paper has long term benefits on the environment. However, there is still a need for recycling as practice to be accepted on a mass scale while simultaneously ironing out the issues associated with proper collection of the waste paper.
Join us on our mission to make recycled paper more widely accepted. Switch to Rescript’s Recycled Notebooks & Stationery Now!
