Pulp & Paper

\ ˈpəlp \ ; a soft wet mass of fibers derived from rags or wood, used in papermaking

\ ˈpā-pər \ ; material manufactured in thin sheets from the pulp of wood or other fibrous substances, used for writing, drawing, printing on, or as wrapping material

Pulp is the main component of paper. Pulp is made by breaking down plant and wood fibers through chemical or mechanical processing and then washing or screening it to remove impurities or contaminants. Pulp for papermaking is oftentimes bleached.

Paper is made by thinly layering pulp onto a moving conveyer belt, pressing it together using rollers to remove excess water, and drying it out with heat. The sheets are then further processed according to end use (adding coatings or print, cutting to size, etc.).

There are countless grades of paper, associated with its many different uses. In terms of recycling, paper grades vary based on type, the presence of inks or coatings, and most importantly, fiber length. Fiber length is an indicator of paper quality – the longer the fiber the higher the quality. Because fibers shorten with each recycling process, paper is not infinitely recyclable.

To recycle paper, materials recovery facilities sort it by grade (mixed paper, sorted office, old newspaper, etc.), make bales, and ship the bales to paper mills. Mills use this recovered paper to make pulp for new paper and fiber based products.

Top uses of recovered paper include recycled content office paper, magazines, newspaper, paperboard, tissues, egg cartons, and other paper based packaging.

As consumer, it’s incredibly important to support paper recycling by purchased paper products made from recycled content and to recycle paper using a public drop off like a Paper Retriever or in your curbside bin. Do not contaminate your paper bin with phone books, hard cover books, cardboard, or paperboard.

Recycling one ton of low quality paper can save 12 trees from being harvested for their virgin wood pulp and recycling one ton of high quality paper can save 24 trees. These trees will then serve the important function of absorbing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. Additionally, paper mills can cut their energy costs and resource usage by using recycled paper as a feedstock.

RESOURCES

American Forest & Paper Association

The Paper Recycling Process

Paper Recycling at Pratt Industries