KEY ISSUES: SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT
Paper Recycling
- How is paper recycled?
- What types of paper do we produce in Australia?
- How much waste paper is collected each year for recycling?
- What are the benefits to the environment from recycling paper?
How is paper recycled?
A paper bin that is put out for recycling usually includes a number of different types
of paper – possibly including old newspapers, shopping boxes
and scribbling pads that you used at school.
Other things mixed with
the paper like staples, sticky tape, glue, plastic, metal clips and
food must be taken out before the paper is recycled.
Unsorted paper
can be used for packaging, while using recycled paper for newspaper
requires sorting into different types by hand. The better quality paper
collected, the higher the quality of the recycled paper that is produced.
Following sorting, recycled paper is squeezed together to form big
blocks of paper and taken by truck to the paper mill. At the mill,
the waste paper is mixed with water in a machine like a washing machine.
Objects such as staples and plastic binders are removed and go to the
rubbish tip. In this process, between 10% and 30% of the waste paper’s
volume will be lost because the paper is made up fillers and other
materials like clay that are absorbed in water.
For some products,
the ink on the paper must be washed off. In this process, a slush
of paper and water is mixed with a detergent and air to form a froth
on the top of the mixture (like bubbles in a bubble bath). This froth
is skimmed off, and the mix is ready to go into the paper machine before
it can be dried and made into new paper.
Waste paper can be recycled
about five to ten times before it cannot be re-used anymore. We can’t
go on recycling the same piece of paper forever, because the fibres
break down and cannot form a strong enough “web” to
make paper.
Can all paper be recycled?
No, but most paper can be recycled. Paper in books, government departmental files and in company files is generally not available for recycling. Paper used in plasterboard for house building can’t be recycled, and tissues are not recycled.
What other limits are there on how much paper is recycled in Australia?
The size of Australia is one of the biggest limitations to how much paper can be recycled here. In places like Tasmania, Western Australian and the Northern Territory – where the quantity of paper used is small and the distance to the recycling plant is large – it is often too costly to collect paper for recycling. This is also the case in many country areas.
What types of paper do we produce in Australia?
Types
of paper produced in Australia include cardboard, packaging, newsprint,
plaster board, a range of industrial papers, tissues and a number of
printing and writing papers.
There are more than 70 different types
of paper produced here with a wide range of uses: Cardboard is made
into packing boxes and cases for items such as beer, fruit and eggs,
daily newspapers are printed on newsprint, plasterboard is used for
the walls of houses, industrial papers are made into paper bags and
bags to hold cement and chemicals, tissues are made into handkerchiefs,
toilet paper and in cleaning and health materials, and printing and
writing paper is made into things like schoolbooks, writing pads and
magazines.
Packaging, newsprint and industrial paper make up more than
two-thirds of the paper produced and used. Not all of the paper used
in Australia is made here – more
than half of the printing and writing paper used here comes from overseas.
How much of the paper produced in Australia is made from recycled paper?
Recycled paper makes up approximately half of the fibre used in paper production.
How much waste paper is collected each year for recycling?
More than 1.6 million tonnes of waste paper is collected each year, most of which is used in making paper. Collecting this paper saves the cities and towns we live in about $80 million per year in reduced rubbish disposal costs.
Paper makes up between 10% and 15% of the rubbish that is taken from houses to the rubbish tip. Rubbish from houses makes up just under half of the total rubbish produced in Australia. The other half of the rubbish comes mainly from building sites but also from offices, shops and factories. Surveys suggest that waste paper makes up less than one-tenth of the total rubbish going to Australian rubbish tips.
Does Australia recycle as much paper as other countries?
Most fibre used to make paper in Australia is recycled. Fibre
from recycled paper currently makes up approximately half of total production,
and this figure has increased significantly in recent years because of
major investments made by the industry.
Australia is a world leader in
recycling newspapers. Australia recovers for recycling more than 70%
of newsprint. In contrast, the average recycling rate in Western Europe
and the US is approximately 50%. In Europe, the large numbers of people
living in small areas make it cheaper and easier to collect waste paper.
What are the benefits to the environment from recycling paper?
The main
environmental benefit from recycling is the lower volume of rubbish
going to rubbish tips. In some circumstances, recycling can reduce
the amount of electricity used in making paper, and therefore the amount
of greenhouse gases emitted (although this will not always happen).
Since recycling mainly replaces fibres from trees grown in plantations
(“virgin
fibre”) or waste from other timber harvesting, it does not have
a major impact on the logging of Australia’s native forests.
However, there may be environmental costs associated with recycling
such as increased usage of fossil fuels by the trucks collecting the
waste material.
Can recycled paper be used for other things besides making paper?
Yes, recycled paper can be used for things like fuel, house insulation, building materials (in doors, furniture and walls), potting mixture for gardening, insulation in cars and shoes.
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