Paper Recycling
What is it?
Paper is usually made from tree wood, but in some countries it can also be made from other materials, such as rags, cotton, straw, waste paper or even animal dung! The first piece of paper is thought to have been made from rags in AD 105
Can it be recycled?
Yes!
How is it recycled?
Paper is collected from your home by recycling lorries, or from recycling banks by your local council.
The paper is sorted into different types (grades) of paper and delivered to a paper mill. Here the paper is checked for items that are not made of paper and so should not be there – this is called contamination. Then the paper is shredded and mixed with water and chemicals to clean off all the writing and pictures. It then forms a pulp which looks like porridge.
The pulp is sprayed, using a wide jet, onto a wide screen forming a watery sheet. The water drains through and the paper fibres bond together. This is then put through big heated rollers which squeeze out the water and make it into the thin paper sheets. The sheets are dried and a coating layer can be added to make paper smooth and glossy. The sheets are then rolled onto massive rolls as big as a car – each roll weighs 30 tonnes. The rolls are then cut into smaller reels and wrapped so they can be sold. The paper is then sent to different places where it can be made into newsprint, cardboard, packaging, tissue and office items.
Most of the paper collected in Devon goes to a paper mill in Aylesford, Kent. Aylesford produce 8% of the world’s newsprint. They make 60 miles of paper every hour, ie, a mile a minute. For more details about Aylesford process click here.
Why should we recycle paper?
Pollution
Paper is a biodegradable material. This means that if it is put into a landfill site it will rot down creating a harmful gas called Methane. This is a powerful greenhouse gas, which is 23 times more potent than CO2 (carbon dioxide) and contributes to climate change (also known as global warming).
Resources
It takes 15 average sized trees to make one tonne of paper. If we recycle we don’t need to keep cutting down trees. We would need a forest more than three times the size of Devon to give us all the paper we use in Britain in one year.
Buy Recycled!
Try to buy things made from recycled paper, e.g. writing paper, envelopes, and even toilet rolls! Look for the recycling logo next time you go shopping.
Where can it be recycled?
Paper can be recycled in household recycling collections, Recycling Centres or recycling banks. The paper should be dry and clean (not have paint, food or grease on it).
Read the signs on the recycling banks or your council leaflet and then put the right items in the right places.
Did you know?
It can take just seven days for a newspaper from Devon to be recycled and transformed into a new local newspaper sold in Devon!
