Paper – remains paper, naturally.
Paper is a natural material that can be recycled several times without any problems. The paper industry uses over 60 percent of old paper to produce their products. Environmentally friendly paper and recycled paper is only made out of waste paper.
Producing paper from waste paper is kind to the environment: by using waste paper, fresh water consumption is reduced, the amount of energy required is reduced and the level of pollutants in the production wastewater is reduced. Wood pulp is the main raw material required to produce new paper and it is made from wood using a process that requires very high levels of energy. Two tonnes of wood are needed to make just one tonne of wood pulp. We would find ourselves facing a big problem if we didn't have old paper: our paper requirements cannot be completely satisfied with the local supply of wood – we would have to produce a large percentage of our paper from wood pulp from abroad.
Besides paper, the paper stream also includes uncoated boxes and cardboard.
In the paper sorting facilities, the different papers are sorted – both by hand and by machine – according to quality and then pressed into bales. Following this, the old paper is transported to paper mills where it is added to water in order to break it down into its different properties and separate the fibres from each other. Any contaminants are removed and once the water has been removed from the "pulp" using various stages, the material can then be used to produce new paper products.
Many kinds of paper are made purely out of waste paper.