Recycling paper is becoming more of a concern for Americans. In 2011, approximately 46 million tons of paper and paperboard were recycled. As you can imagine, it takes a huge operation to handle this much paper. Most consumer’s recycling efforts begin and end at the wastebasket. We simply throw our paper into a designated recycling bin, push it to the curb, and forget about it.

Have you ever thought what happens to that paper after it leaves your curb?

 

How paper is recycled:

 

1. Consumer Designation

It’s ultimately up to the consumer to decide whether to recycle or not. There are several ways to get your recyclable materials to the correct places.

• Curbside Pickup

• Local Recycling Center

• Community Bins

 

2. Shredded

Large shredding machines at local distribution centers shred the paper into fine pieces, making it more compact and easy to work with.

 

3. Baled

Baling machines take the paper and compact it tightly for shipment. These bales are often strapped together using the same machine.

 

4. Delivery

Large trucks take the shredded bales to a recycled paper mill.

 

5. Pulped

Paper bales as well as loose paper is fed into large machines to turn the used paper into a fine pulp using water. “Virgin paper”, or non recycled paper or wood is also added to the pulp to strengthen the finished product.

 

6. Cleaned

Used paper is then sent through several cleaning and de-inking process to make the paper suitable for another use.

7. Flattened

The clean pulp is then placed on a huge flat rotating conveyor belt. Large rollers press the pulp flat while pushing out the water.

 

8. Dried

These newly formed sheets of paper are sent through more rollers and various large dryers are then in place to get the paper to its final form.

 

9. Rolled

The last step in the system uses large tubes made of different materials to wrap the paper into large rolls. These large rolls are then shipped to many different types of companies, including newspaper printers.

 

As you can see, recycling paper is a large and very involved process. It takes participation from dozens of parties to make our environment a better place. Premier is proud to supply recycling centers with the shredders and balers necessary for recycling.

 

Be sure to stop by next week for more material handling resources!