The amount of waste paper meant to be discarded in the average home makes up about 40% of the total waste that is meant to be thrown out. In an office space or a school, the number of art paper can be much higher.

If all of this paper continues to be discarded without recycling, the implications for the world’s forests can be very serious.

This is especially so since trees and forestland are important for the production of oxygen, absorption of CO2 emissions. Trees also play an important role in preventing natural disasters, such as floods and land sliding.

Categories

Paper stock that is capable of being recycled falls into three broad segments. The first is waste that is produced by users after the purpose of the paper has been discharged. This is the batch of paper produced at schools, colleges, universities, and other places that buy and use paper.

The second is discarded paper that was not used, and the third is mill broke, which is waste paper produced as a byproduct of paper manufacturing.

In general, the paper that is recycled can be made into packaging products, or recycled paper by removing the ink from used batches.

Process

The recycling process for scrap paper comprises the use of water and substances to disintegrate it, following which it is heated to make it into cellulose, which produces pulp.

The filtration process allows for the removal of foreign items such as adhesives and coatings, after which it is made worthy of being turned into new recycled paper.

Benefits

Recycling paper can lead to several advantages as far as the environmental costs are concerned, in several segments of the manufacturing chain.

A substantial portion of paper pulp is the result of wood obtained from trees, and some estimates suggest that paper manufacturing represents over a third of the trees that are cut down.

Estimates also suggest that a batch of newspapers being recycled can save almost the same weight in wood, by printing and copy paper suppliers leading to about twice the wood being conserved.

The reason for the difference is the texture in comparison to newspapers, which requires higher quality fibers.

Papermill operators in some states might ensure that the area being deforested is planted again to ensure a steady supply of the materials used in paper processing.

Energy

Although the estimates for how much energy is saved from recycling paper pulp differ, the unanimous view is that the savings are substantial and reflective of the levels of energy required to power a single home between anywhere from half to a full year.