Recycle Paper - An Overview, 1996 Nonwovens Conference Proceedings

Irwin M. Hutten, Institute of Paper Science and Technology

Paper and paperboard account for 63% of all recovered materials, including metal, glass, and plastic. In 1993, for the first time in U.S. history, as much paper was recovered as was landfilled. In 1994, the recovery rate for paper and paperboard exceeded 40% of consumption. The recovery goal is 50% by the year 2000. The increasingly high prices of virgin pulp is encouraging the U.S. Paper Industry to resort more and more to alternate fiber sources such as recycle paper. The biggest source of recycle papers is old corrugated containers (OCC), followed by old newspapers (ONP). The biggest users of recycle paper and paper board are containerboard, recycle paperboard, newsprint, tissue, and printing grades. There is an increasing demand for mixed papers from mixed office waste (MOW), residential curbside collection, and post-industrial waste. The major barriers to the use of recycle paper are contaminants, which include stickies and short fiber lengths (tines). Successive recycles of wood fiber continually decrease their quality for papermaking. Process and chemical strategies are being developed to deal with the barriers. The major process steps for recycling paper are pulping, screening, cyclic cleaning, flotation deinking, washing, thickening, and dispersion. Chemical strategies are being developed to negate the effects of stickies, to maintain drainage with increased levels of fines, and to enhance the bonding qualities of recycled fibers.