Is paper a residual waste?

Waste cardboard waste examples

It is a material with a porous structure, consisting of interwoven fibers, made from a paste or aqueous suspension of fibers by draining water through a mesh or cloth and successive drying. The fibers of the paste are generally of vegetable nature, but can also be of mineral, animal or synthetic origin, or a mixture of these.

It is manufactured from fibrous materials, the nature of which determines the fundamental characteristics with the addition of fillers, sizing agents, colorants and various additives. The fibrous materials are dispersed in water to form a diluted suspension, which is almost always subjected to refining and then transformed into paper in the continuous machine. Paper grades are distinguished from each other by:

FSC: The Forest Stewardship Council certification system, better known by the acronym FSC, was created in 1993 to enable companies and consumers to identify products from responsibly managed forests. It is a non-governmental accreditation and certification organization. Buying products with the FSC label is a way to support good forest management, preserving the quality of the ecosystem and the livelihoods of the people who live in and from forests. Argentina: FSC Argentina International: FSC

What can be done with waste paper

The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge decided to address the establishment of end-of-waste criteria for recovered paper and cardboard in the territory of the State, as established in Article 5 of Law 22/2011, of July 28. For this purpose, it has been based on the technical document prepared by the JRC, “End-of-waste criteria for waste paper: Technical proposals”.

David Barrio, Director of Recycling and Logistics of ASPAPEL, said that “we welcome this new legal figure, in the belief that it is a great opportunity for the entire paper and cardboard recycling chain as a whole, as it will help to ensure the quality of the material, reduce the bureaucratic burden and eliminate barriers to the free movement of this raw material”.

Andrea Orallo, director of the Mesa de la Nueva Recuperación, considers that “for ASPAPEL it is essential that the standard has taken into account the need to maintain at all times the conformity with the European standards of the sector in the waste sorting process”, specifically the EN 643 European list of standard qualities of paper and cardboard for recycling, and the EN 17085 Standard Sampling procedures for paper and cardboard for recycling. Conformity with European standards involves the implementation and verification of a quality management system, the issuance of the declaration of conformity for each shipment, the performance of quality controls, and the provision of information on the material that has ceased to be waste.

Paper recycling

Paper recycling is one of the most important recycling processes in existence. It avoids the felling of many trees and also avoids the use of toxic bleaches such as chlorine, which, if not properly managed, ends up being released into the environment. However, although recycling paper and cardboard is such an important task, it is also necessary to remember that not all types of paper can be recycled. In fact, some of them will have to be discarded and will end up in an incinerator once they have been used and nothing can be done about it. If you want to know what kind of paper can and cannot be recycled, keep reading Green Ecology and we will tell you about it.

In fact, when we talk about recycling paper, we are referring to cellulose. That is, the main material that makes up paper and is extracted from the wood of trees. However, for this cellulose to be recycled, it must be in an acceptable condition. This means that if it is paper or cardboard that has undergone certain chemical treatments, or has simply been stained with dirt that cannot be removed, the paper in question is unusable for recycling.

Waste paper and board examples

There are four categories of paper that can be used as raw material for recycled paper: ground, consumer waste, post-consumer waste, toilet paper. Toilet paper must be previously dried and cleaned as it may contain pieces of defecation in both solid and liquid form. Ground paper is trimmings and scraps from paper manufacturing, and is recycled internally in a paper mill. Pre-consumer waste is material that has already passed through the paper mill and has been rejected before it is ready for consumption. Post-consumer waste is already used paper materials that the consumer rejects, such as old magazines or newspapers, office supplies, telephone directories, etc. Paper that is considered suitable for recycling is called “waste paper”.

Almost any type of paper can be recycled today, although some are more difficult to treat than others. Papers covered with plastic or aluminum, and waxed, glued or gummed papers are normally not recycled due to the high cost of the process. Gift wrapping papers also cannot be recycled due to their already poor quality.[2] The following are some of the most common types of gift wrapping paper.