Paper Recycling 101
It’s hard to imagine daily life without paper. From print media and books to work reports, schoolwork, and product packaging, we use paper every day at work, school, and home. Although the digital age has brought a significant reduction in paper consumption over the last couple of decades, paper is still very practical and widely used, and the waste of paper is still problematic. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that paper and cardboard/paperboard ranks second to organics in amount of waste generated in the U.S. Waste paper and cardboard are easy to recycle so it is important that we capture and recycle as much as possible.
What kind of paper is recyclable?
Although acceptable materials for recycling may vary from region to region, the following are examples of mixed paper that can be placed in recycling containers in Thousand Oaks:
Newspaper
Magazines/catalogs
Office paper
Envelopes/ junk mail
Cardboard
Tissue boxes
Toilet paper rolls
Cereal boxes
Paper drink cartons
Unwaxed food packaging
How is paper recycled?
Paper, along with the other contents of mixed recycling bins, is taken to Athens Services Material Recovery Facility (MRF) where the recyclables are sorted, separated into their respective material types and baled for sale to market. Paper mills that purchase the baled paper from MRFs begin the industrial process to produce new paper and cardboard.
The recovered paper is placed in a hot water “bath”, or slurry, and screened and filtered to remove inks, glue, plastic film, staples, and other contaminants, resulting in a paper fiber pulp. The pulp is then run through a series of presses and large dryer rollers to extract the water and smooth the material into a uniform thickness. The resulting paper material is pressed and wound into rolled sheets. The rolled sheets of recycled paper are cut and sold to product manufacturers to be made into a variety of paper products such as cardboard, newsprint, office paper, toilet paper, tissues, napkins, egg cartons, and other packaging. According to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, approximately 76% of paper mills in the U.S. rely on recovered fiber to make some or all of their paper products.
Cardboard
With the convenience and popularity of online shopping, cardboard waste has increased significantly over the last decade, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic when people relied heavily on home-delivered goods. Waste haulers reported a surge in residential waste during this time with cardboard leading the charge. While residential waste generation has decreased since the height of the pandemic, the “Amazon effect” continues today as consumers' appetite for home delivery, and cardboard, wages on. Cardboard and paper are categorized into different grades and are typically sorted separately at MRFs, but the recycling process at the mill is largely the same.
What are the environmental impacts of paper?
Virgin paper is made from the wood fibers of harvested trees. Some paper products are made from sustainably managed forests raised specifically for pulp production, which are then reforested to ensure a continuing supply of trees. But producing paper from virgin materials is still resource-intensive, from acquiring and processing the raw materials (harvesting trees), to transport and disposal impacts.
Collecting and recycling waste paper has several significant environmental benefits besides preserving trees. It requires less energy and water to process recycled paper than to produce paper made from virgin wood fiber. It saves landfill space and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the EPA has found that recycling paper results in 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution than making virgin paper.
Recycling one ton of paper:
Saves enough energy to power the average American home for six months.
Saves 7,000 gallons of water.
Saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by one metric ton
For more information about recycling in the City of Thousand Oaks, check out the Athens Services “What Goes Where?” recycling guide or visit our residential recycling webpage.
