Thankfully, paper is not a difficult material to recycle, and there are excellent benefits for the environment when the procedure is completed. Once it has been collected (by either your local authority or a recycling company acting on their behalf), it is taken to a paper mill, who take care of the rest of the recycling process.
Once at the mill, the scrap paper is added to water and then turned into pulp. The recycled paper is then screened, cleaned and de-inked through a number of processes until it is found suitable for papermaking. The final stage of the paper recycling process is for the pulp to be turned back into rolls of paper, which can then be used for newspapers, toilet rolls, etc.
So, now that you know how simple the recycling process for paper is, lets look at benefits that it brings…
Saves Trees – The less brand new (referred to as ‘virgin’) paper that is needed, the less trees have to be cut down. Vast areas have already been ruined as a direct of deforesting for paper, and this needs to stop as by doing so we are unbalancing eco-systems and the atmosphere.
Wildlife Preservation – More often than not, the wildlife that lives in the trees that are cut down to make ‘new’ paper, die quickly because they cannot adapt to living anywhere else. Recycling paper means that they can die natural deaths instead of forced ones.
Saves Space – Recycling paper reduces space in landfills. 1 ton of recycled paper made from scraps can save 3 cubic yards.
Less Pollution – Burning paper in waste incinerators pumps masses of pollution into the air. That means that we are unnecessarily causing the air that we all breathe to be of a lower quality.
Creates Jobs – Think about all the people who work within the paper recycling industry. Collectors, sorters and machine operators being just a few of them. The more that we recycle, the more of these jobs there will be created.
Paper Logs – Many people are now turning to paper logs as a supplementary fuel source. Consisting of tightly compressed briquettes of paper, these logs can be thrown on a fire or used in a wood burner to provide heat for free.
Cheaper Paper – Recycled paper is often cheap to purchase. Buying cheaper, recycled goods encourages more recycled goods to be manufactured, sustaining the recycling industry.
http://www.paperlogmaker.org.uk is a website dedicated to the recycling of paper. At their site you can find out what a paper log maker is and how it can help you recycle paper.
