Thu, September - 9 - 2010 |
(on a truly global perspective)
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One of the projects the Paper Industry Resource Center is working on is the reclamation and recycling of paper. Specifically the project is looking at the impact of single stream collection of recyclables on the quality of fiber going to paper mills. The interest in the project stems from the increasingly popular practice of collecting all recyclables in one container.
Over the last 30 years there has been increasing interest in reclaiming and reusing materials; in short, recycling. Although the concept of recycling is likely lost in the mists of pre-history, recycling/reuse of materials has become a part of our daily existence. Most states now have laws that require recycling/reclamation of certain materials. The most common are paper, aluminum, glass and other metals, but other items are being added as we go forward. There is a move in Europe to have things as large and complicated as automobiles designed so they can be recycled.
The original impetus for recycling resulted from the realization it was easier to recycle a material rather than make it from scratch. Historical documents thousands of years old talk of converting swords and weapons into plows. In many instances, an important factor in recycling was a war or conflict that required increased amounts of certain materials or the conflict restricted access to needed resources. It is likely there were times when plows were converted into swords and shields.
Fortunately, recycling of many materials is relatively easy. This is true of paper, glass and most metals. Aluminum, in particular, uses considerably less energy to recycle than to produce it from raw materials. It is widely quoted that the energy needed to produce a new aluminum can from an old one is just 5% of the energy need to produce aluminum from bauxite, its native form.
In recent times, it has become apparent that recycling can help alleviate another problem; that of waste management. Through most of the first half of last century (the 20th), glass, paper and other disposables were collected along with garbage and sent to a “dump” or landfill. Increasing concerns about the environment and the interest in reducing the amounts of materials discarded led many states to enact recycling guidelines and laws. In Wisconsin, it is unlawful to improperly dispose of: lead acid batteries, newspapers, glass bottles and jars, magazines, aluminum cans, corrugated cardboard, office paper, steel (tin) cans, bi-metal steel/aluminum cans, plastic containers, used motor oil, major appliances, and yard waste. The intent of most of the laws and guidelines is to force the recycling of materials.
While federal, state and local governments have been proponents of recycling, other groups and agencies have also encouraged recycling. The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has been an advocate of paper recycling and has set a goal for recycling of paper and paperboard of 55% by the year 2012. As late as the year 2000 the recovery rate for paper and paperboard was 46.0%. AF&PA’s most recent data (2006) show a recovery rate for 2006 of 53.4%
In addition to the increased legislation that has led to increased recycling, there is also an increased awareness in the general population on the benefits of recycling. A contributing factor may also be the move to single stream collection. In many of the early recycling programs, residents were required to separate the paper, paperboard, glass and plastic at the curb. Collection was done with trucks that had separate compartments for each type of material. While providing relatively “pure” streams of recycled material, this process was labor intensive. Generally two man crews were required on the collection trucks. Once a single compartment on a truck was filled, the truck needed to go to the recycling center to dump their load regardless of how full the other compartments were. Requiring residents to separate the materials at curbside, put the burden on the homeowners.
Single stream collection, where all recyclables are placed in a single container for collection began to be practiced in the mid to late 1990’s. While this method of collection required that a subsequent separation of the materials would need to be done, the move to single stream made the collection part of the process easier. Since everything was mixed at the curb, only a single uncompartmented truck was needed. Because everything went in one container, it was possible to standardize the containers and automate the emptying of the containers into the truck. This meant trucks needed only a driver who operated a robot arm remotely. Many early studies also indicated that single stream collection led to increased amounts of material being recycled.
While single stream collection seems to offer benefits to the homeowners and the municipality with lower collection costs because of less labor and more efficient vehicle use, the downstream effects on reclaiming some of the materials were significant. In order to recycle materials it was necessary to separate the paper, paperboard, metal and glass. Initially a lot of the sorting was done manually. This proved to be inefficient and labor intensive. Contamination of paper and paperboard with broken glass and plastic proved to be a significant problem. Studies conducted at newsprint and paperboard mills using recycled fiber from single stream separated materials indicated large increases in contaminants. Worse than the contaminant level was the wear and tear on equipment caused by broken glass. The next newsletter will highlight the progress being made in separating and handling materials from single stream collection.
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