Paper
Last updated | 27/11/2008
What types of paper do we recycle?
We recycle office quality paper
- newspapers
- magazines
- contents of junk mail
- brochures
(Telephone Directories and catalogues can be recycled at Recycling Centres. Please do not place in your paper recycling bin.)
What can't be recycled and why
It is very important that only the correct paper waste is recycled. The paper mill we send our paper to cannot accept:
Envelopes/Post-it Notes
The glue from envelopes and Post-It Notes cannot be easily removed and have to go through special screening and filtering. If the glue is not successfully removed then it will transfer from the pulp onto the paper machine rollers . This causes 2 problems, firstly the glue particles on the machine rollers creates a weak point causing the newsprint sheet to break and secondly glue particles on the newsprint give our customers printing problems and runnability problems.
Envelopes typically are made from a mixed hardwood brown fibre blend which causes the same problems as cardboard.
Cardboard
Cardboard can cause a lot of problems during the recycling process. Cardboard is made from mixed brown fibres which have a low brightness and requires chemical bleaching which significantly increase the costs for the paper mill.
Christmas cards/Wrapping paper
They can contain dyed paper, chemical finishes or often are not made from paper at all.
Hard backed catalogues
Due to the hard backed covers.
Telephone Directories/Books
Telephone directories are over 12 months old when they are changed in an area and the old ones recycled. After 6 months of the ink being on the fibre the chemical bond is very strong. Separating the ink from the fibre through the flotation process becomes very difficult for two reasons. Firstly as you try to remove the ink excessive fibre is lost seriously effecting yield and secondly the fibre that you have managed to recover has a high proportion of 'ink carry over' affecting the brightness of the resulting pulp.
Wallpaper
Wallpaper often contains dyed paper and chemical finishes, it also contains a lot of glue and causes the same problems as envelopes.
Dyed paper
This can particularly be a problem with paper from schools. The dye will come out of the paper as it is pulped and will contaminate our water systems and reduce the pulp brightness.
Putting any of the above materials into your blue-lidded bin or in a Paper Recycling Point could result in your bin not being uplifted or a whole lorry load of paper from being recycled.
You can recycle cardboard at certain Recycling Centres and Telephone directories at all Recycling Centres.
Why do we recycle paper?
Recycling paper saves on the volume of virgin trees cut down and uses only 60-70% of the energy required for primary production. Recycling also prevents the paper from going to landfill.
Where does the paper go?
In Perth and Kinross recycled paper goes to one of two destinations. Firstly, general paper waste is taken to the paper reprocessing company, UPM . The second outlet, used for confidential paper waste, is DERL the energy from waste plant in Dundee.
How is it recycled?
General paper waste comes from kerbside paper bins and Recycling Centres and Points' containers. The paper is taken to UPM Ltd . Confidential paper is uplifted by a separate lorry and taken to DERL.
What's it made into?
Based in Merseyside, UPM uses the recycled paper for newspaper print and paper bags. Confidential paper is taken to DERL and incinerated. The electricity produced is sold to the National Grid.
