Benefits of Using PowerMaster Recyclone for recycling Paper & Cardboard
- PowerMaster will put signicantly more into the bale due to smaller particle size. PowerMaster removes the dead air space and a significant amount of water reducing shipping costs.
- PowerMaster processed paper and cardboard is cleaner and will go into suspension 10-20% faster than non processed recycle materials.
PowerMaster is a proven technology. PowerMaster increased manufacturing thruput at the recycling mill in Denver by 10%, increasing production by 10-20 tons per day.
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Though paper was invented some 2000 years ago in China, paper has been made from wood pulp for only about 200 years. The paper industry has recycled fiber since the very beginning both by re-processing any waste created during the manufacturing of paper and using recycled fiber to make new paper. In fact, up until the transition to wood pulp took place in the 1800s, paper was made from recycled rags and other textiles.
Recycled paper has been used as a feedstock for some paper products in the United States since about 1850. However, in the 1950's and 60's, many mills began to focus on using only virgin wood pulp and the use of recycled paper dropped to its lowest point to around 18% nationwide. It wasnt until the 1970's and 1980's that many paper companies retrofitted mills and built new mills to re-gain the capability of using post-consumer recycled paper in addition to virgin wood pulp. Now in the United States there are some 400 pulp and paper mills and most of them use some recycled paper to make the many different types of paper products.
According to "Paper Recycling Hits record, AF&PA says" in April 3, 2000 edition of Waste News, 1999 saw an all time high for the recovery of recycled paper in the United States. The recovery rate for paper (amount of paper recovered divided by purchases of paper and paperboard) was 45%, up from 44.6% in 1998. Recycled paper accounted for 36.5% of total fiber consumption. The goal for the industry is 50% recovery, and Waste News in Dec. 13, 1999 predicted that the consumption of recycled fiber by the paper industry to grow an average of 1.8 % each year between 2000 and 2002.
Recycled Paper Types
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Baled old corrugated containers.
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Utilization of recycled paper ultimately uses less energy, water and trees. It has become a desired commodity and the pulp and paper industry has developed standards for categorizing the various types. There are some 90 grades of recycled paper, in four basic categories.
- Old Corrugated Containers
- Old Newspaper
- Office Paper
- Mixed Papers
Office paper includes a wide variety of the paper used in offices and business including letterhead, copy and computer paper, and file stock, and is the most valuable of recycled paper types. However, office paper currently has a 42% recovery rate.
Of the four categories, Old Corrugated Containers, commonly known as cardboard, is the most recycled commodity, most of which (90%) is by businesses rather than homes. In 1997, OCC claimed a 73% recovery rate in the nation.
8.8 million tons of Old Newspapers (ONP) were recovered and recycled in 1998 mostly from households. The EPA estimates that there are 13.5 million tons on ONP generated per year in the U.S., making that approximately 99.9 pounds per person per year.
Mixed Papers (MP) contain a wide variety of paper including magazines, paperboard, glossy, and includes some of the other three paper commodity types. Mixed Papers (MP) are currently the least valued of all the paper types, but with the expansion of residential curbside collection programs over the last ten years, more and more MP is being generated and some mills are using it as a primary feed stock. In coming years, MP could begin to rival OCC as the most recycled paper commodity.
Collection and Processing
Paper is collected in a variety of programs. Residential and office recycling programs are generally operated by recyclers who process the material for resale to end-users. Industrial producers of large quantities sometimes process and/or broker the material themselves. Paper, as with all recycled commodities, commands higher prices in the market place when the material is handled and processed to the end users specifications.
The recycling industry today brings a more sophisticated technical approach to all aspects of paper recycling. Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) today combine technologies like pneumatic conveying, automated baling, contaminant removal with trained manual sorting to meet market needs. One cutting edge project involving Weyerhaeuser and MSS (mechanical separation systems) is using optical sortation at a Baltimore MRF to sort specific paper grades from residential mixed waste paper.
End Uses
Primary Markets
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Recycled fiber as an insulation material.
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The majority of paper ends up in paper products like cardboard, newspaper, tissues, boxboard, and printing and writing paper. With around 80% of the mills in the United States utilizing recycled paper, much of the paper products made today have some level of recycled content.
Secondary Markets
Currently 17% of ONP is recycled into other products besides the classic paper products.
- Cellulose insulation
- Mold-pulp egg cartons
- Building roofing paper
- Animal bedding
- Hydro-mulch
For more information on paper recycling or for assistance in optimizing your paper recycling program, please Contact us.
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Today, 90% of paper pulp is made of wood. Paper manufacture is estimated to account for nearly 13 percent of total wood use, and represents one percent of the world's total economic output. Recycling 1 tonne (1t = 1000 kg) of newspaper saves about 12 trees (as opposed to 17 trees, a figure based on a much-quoted report to the U.S. Congress in the 1970's, although the process of papermaking has become more efficient since then). Recycling 1 tonne of printing and writing paper saves 24 trees (a mixture of softwoods and hardwoods 40 feet tall and 6-8 inches in diameter) because this paper, made via the kraft chemical (or "freesheet") pulping process, is of higher quality (i.e., contains more fibers) than the newspapers or telephone directories made via a "mechanical" or "groundwood" process.
It saves energy. The EIA states on its website that "a paper mill uses 40 percent less energy to make paper from recycled paper than it does to make paper from fresh lumber." Therefore recycling 1t of newspaper saves about 4,000 KWh of electricity—enough electricity to power a 3-bedroom European house for an entire year, or enough energy to heat and air-condition the average North American home for almost six months. The Bureau of International Recycling, BIR, said that paper recycling uses 64% less energy, a figure significantly higher than the EIA's estimate. The BIR quotes that recycling causes 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution.. Either way, it should be noted that a recycling mill may consume more fossil fuels than a paper mill. Paper mills generate about 50% of their energy from burning waste wood (bark, roots) and purchase the rest from local power companies, but recycling mills purchase most of their energy from local power companies or use on-site cogeneration facilities.
It saves landfill space. Paper is the number one material that we throw away. About 35% of refuse by weight is paper. Newspapers take up about 14% of landfill space, and paper in packaging accounts for another 15 to 20%. Therefore, recycling 1 ton of newspaper eliminates 3 cubic meters of landfill. When choosing between landfill and incineration of waste materials, the latter option is preferred, as value is recovered from the waste in the form of energy. Another reason to avoid landfills is that Organic materials, including decomposing paper, release biogas such as methane, which is a greenhouse gas linked to greenhouse gas. Another reason to recycle is the added problem of running out of landfill sites.
It saves water. Recycling 1 ton of newspaper saves 31,780 litres of water. Paper manufacturing is the largest industrial user of water by weight of finished product.
It reduces water & air pollution. The EPA has found that recycling causes 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution. This is because paper manufacturing uses chemicals such as bleaches (e.g., chlorine, which is highly toxic to people and fish) and releases pollutants such as sulfur dioxide. Chlorine is also sometimes used to bleach recycled paper, however smaller amounts are needed relative to the amount needed when bleaching paper from virgin fiber. Today, chlorine is rarely used at all in the virgin fiber manufacturing process due to its detrimental effects to the environment. Instead, substances such as hydrogen peroxide are utilized which results in the eventual production of oxygen and water when used to bleach either virgin or recycled paper fibers. To be sure, you can check for a label indicating the paper is totally chlorine-free (TCF) or processed chlorine-free (PCF). However it should be noted that recycling mills may have polluting by-products, such as sludge. De-inking at Cross Pointe's Miami, Ohio mill results in sludge weighing 22% of the weight of wastepaper recycled .
It reduces your carbon footprint. Paper manufacturing is the third largest user of fossil fuels worldwide. Recycling 1 kg of paper instead of landfilling it avoids 900 g of CO2 emissions as well as methane emissions. Purchasing 100% post-consumer recycled paper lightens your carbon footprint by 5 pounds of CO2 per ream.
Reduced environmental degradation. Forests harvested by clear-felling (vs. selective felling) can lead to soil erosion and degradation as the nutrients are continually removed with the trees. Additionally, farmed forests often require the use of large quantities of artificial fertilizer--the production, transportation, and regular application of which is extremely energy intensive and environmentally damaging. Furthermore, recycling half the world’s paper would free 20 million acres (80,000 km²) forestland.
You can reuse it! The European Union, as part of the waste hierarchy in the Waste Framework Directive, stipulates that reuse or recycling of used paper and board is preferable to disposal. Apart from recycling paper to make new paper (which may not be an option if your area has no recycling plant), there are many uses for used paper, such as cheap insulation, as a sponge for cleaning, as garden mulch, or for arts and craft making.
