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Home > Books > Environmental Management in Practice

The Effects of Paper Recycling and its Environmental Impact

Submitted: 24 November 2010 Published: 05 July 2011

DOI: 10.5772/23110

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Environmental Management in Practice

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Author Information

Iveta čabalová *.

• Technical University in Zvolen,Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology, Slovakia

František Kačík

Anton geffert *, danica kačíková *.

*Address all correspondence to:

1. Introduction

It is well known the paper production (likewise the other brands of industry) has enormous effects on the environment. The using and processing of raw materials has a variety of negative effects on the environment.

At the other hand there are technologies which can moderate the negative impacts on the environment and they also have a positive economical effect. One of these processes is the recycling, which is not only the next use of the wastes. The main benefit of the recycling is a double decrease of the environment loading, known as an environmental impact reducing. From the first view point, the natural resources conserves at side of the manufacturing process inputs, from the second view point, the harmful compounds amount leaking to the environment decreases at side of the manufacturing process outputs.

The paper production from the recycled fibers consumes less energy; conserves the natural resources viz. wood and decreases the environmental pollution. The conflict between economic optimization and environmental protection has received wide attention in recent research programs for waste management system planning. This has also resulted in a set of new waste management goals in reverse logistics system planning. Pati et al. (2008 ) have proposed a mixed integer goal programming (MIGP) model to capture the inter-relationships among the paper recycling network system. Use of this model can bring indirectly benefit to the environment as well as improve the quality of waste paper reaching the recycling unit.

In 2005, the total production of paper in Europe was 99.3 million tonnes which generated 11 million tonnes of waste, representing about 11% in relation to the total paper production. The production of recycled paper, during the same period, was 47.3 million tonnes generating 7.7 million tonnes of solid waste (about 70% of total generated waste in papermaking) which represents 16% of the total production from this raw material ( CEPI 2006 ).

The consumption of recovered paper has been in continuous growth during the past decades. According to the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), the use of recovered paper was almost even with the use of virgin fiber in 2005. This development has been boosted by technological progress and the good price competitiveness of recycled fiber, but also by environmental awareness – at both the producer and consumer ends – and regulation that has influenced the demand for recovered paper. The European paper industry suffered a very difficult year in 2009 during which the industry encountered more down-time and capacity closures as a result of the weakened global economy. Recovered paper utilisation in Europe decreased in 2009, but exports of recovered paper to countries outside CEPI continued to rise, especially to Asian markets (96.3%). However, recycling rate expressed as “volume of paper recycling/volume of paper consumption” resulted in a record high 72.2% recycling rate after having reached 66.7% the year before ( Fig. 1 ) ( Hujala et al. 2010 ;CEPI 2006; European Declaration on Paper Recycling 2010; Huhtala& Samakovlis 2002 ; CEPI Annual Statistic 2010).

European paper recycling 1995-2009 in million tonnes (European Declaration on Paper Recycling 2006 – 2010, Monitoring Report 2009 (2010) (www.erpa.info)

Recycling is not a new technology. It has become a commercial proposition since Matthias Koops established the Neckinger mill, in 1826, which produced white paper from printed waste paper. However, there were very few investigations into the effect of recycling on sheet properties until late 1960's. From then until the late 1970's, a considerable amount of work was carried out to identify the effects of recycling on pulp properties and the cause of these effects ( Nazhad 2005 ; Nazhad& Paszner 1994 ). In the late 1980's and early 1990's, recycling issues have emerged stronger than before due to the higher cost of landfills in developed countries and an evolution in human awareness. The findings of the early 70's on recycling effects have since been confirmed, although attempts to trace the cause of these effects are still not resolved ( Howard &Bichard 1992 ).

Recycling has been thought to reduce the fibre swelling capability, and thus the flexibility of fibres. The restricted swelling of recycled fibres has been ascribed to hornification, which has been introduced as a main cause of poor quality of recycled paper ( Scallan&Tydeman 1992 ). Since 1950's, fibre flexibility among the papermakers has been recognized as a main source of paper strength. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that, for over half a century, papermakers have supported and rationalized hornification as a main source of tensile loss due to drying, even though it has never been fully understood ( Sutjipto et al. 2008 ).

Recycled paper has been increasingly produced in various grades in the paper industry. However, there are still technical problems including reduction in mechanical strength for recycled paper. Especially, chemical pulp-origin paper, that is, fine paperrequires a certain level of strength. Howard & Bichard (1992 ) reported that beaten bleachedkraft pulp produced handsheets which were bulky and weak in tensile and burst strengthsby handsheet recycling. This behaviour could be explained by the reduction in re-swelling capability or the reduction in flexibility of rewetted pulp fibers due to fiber hornification and, possibly, by fines loss during recycling processes, which decrease both total bondingarea and the strength of paper ( Howard 1995 ; Nazhad&Paszner 1994 ; Nazhad et al. 1995 ; Khantayanuwong et al.2002 ; Kim et al. 2000 ).

Paper recycling is increasingly important for the sustainable development of the paper industry as an environmentally friendly sound. The research related to paper recycling is therefore increasingly crucial for the need of the industry. Even though there are a number of researches ascertained the effect of recycling treatment on properties of softwood pulp fibres ( Cao et al. 1999 ; Horn 1975 ; Howard&Bichard 1992 ; Jang et al. 1995 ), however, it is likely that hardwood pulp fibres have rarely been used in the research operated with recycling treatment. Changes in some morphological properties of hardwood pulp fibres, such as curl, kink, and length of fibre, due to recycling effects also have not been determined considerably. This is possibly because most of the researches were conducted in the countries where softwood pulp fibres are commercial extensively ( Khantayanuwong 2003 ). Therefore, it is the purpose of the present research to crucially determine the effect of recycling treatment on some important properties of softwood pulp fibres.

2. Alterations of pulp fibres properties at recycling

The goal of a recycled paper or board manufacturer is to make a product that meets customers΄ specification and requirements. At the present utilization rate, using recycled fibres in commodity grades such as newsprint and packaging paper and board has not caused noticeable deterioration in product quality and performance ( Čabalová et al. 2009 ). The expected increase in recovery rates of used paper products will require a considerable consumption increase of recycled fibres in higher quality grades such as office paper and magazine paper. To promote expanded use of recovered paper, understanding the fundamental nature of recycled fibres and the differences from virgin fibres is necessary.

Essentially, recycled fibres are contaminated, used fibres. Recycled pulp quality is, therefore, directly affected by the history of the fibres, i.e. by the origins, processes and treatments which these fibres have experienced.

McKinney (1995) classified the history into five periods:

fibre furnish and pulp history

paper making process history

printing and converting history

consumer and collection history

recycling process history.

To identity changes in fibre properties, many recycling studies have occurred at laboratory. Realistically repeating all the stages ofthe recycling chain is difficult especially when including printing and deinking. Some insight into changes in fibre structure, cell wall properties, and bonding ability is possible from investigations using various recycling procedures, testing methods, and furnishes.

Mechanical pulp is chemically and physically different from chemical pulp then recycling effect on those furnishes is also different. When chemical fibres undergo repeated drying and rewetting, they are hornified and can significantly lose their originally high bonding potential ( Somwand et al. 2002 ; Song & Law 2010 ; Kato & Cameron 1999 ; Bouchard & Douek 1994 ; Khantayanuwong et al. 2002 ; Zanuttini et al. 2007 ; da Silva et al. 2007 ). The degree of hornification can be measured by water retention value (WRW) ( Kim et al. 2000 ). In contrast to the chemical pulps, originally weakermechanical pulps do not deteriorate but somewhat even improve bonding potential during a corresponding treatment. Several studies( Maloney et al. 1998 ; Weise 1998 ; Ackerman et al. 2000 ) have shown good recyclability of mechanical fibres.

Adámková a Milichovský (2002 ) present the dependence of beating degree ( SR –Schopper-Riegler degree) and WRV from the relative length of hardwood and softwood pulps. From their results we can see the WRV increase in dependence on the pulp length alteration is more rapid at hardwood pulp, but finally this value is higher at softwood pulps. Kim et al. (2000 ) determined the WRV decrease at softwood pulps with the higher number of recycling (at zero recycling about cca 1.5 g/g at fifth recycling about cca 1.1 g/g).Utilisation of the secondary fibres to furnish at paper production decrease of the initial need of woody raw (less of cutting tress) but the paper quality is not significantly worse.

2.1. Paper recycling

The primary raw material for the paper production is pulps fibres obtaining by a complicated chemical process from natural materials, mainly from wood. This fibres production is very energy demanding and at the manufacturing process there are used many of the chemical matters which are very problematic from view point of the environment protection. The suitable alternative is obtaining of the pulp fibres from already made paper. This process is far less demanding on energy and chemicals utilisation. The paper recycling, simplified, means the repeated defibring, grinding and drying, when there are altered the mechanical properties of the secondary stock, the chemical properties of fibres, the polymerisation degree of pulp polysaccharidic components, mainly of cellulose, their supramolecular structure, the morphological structure of fibres, range and level of interfibres bonds e.g.. The cause of above mentioned alterations is the fibres ageing at the paper recycling and manufacturing, mainly the drying process.

At the repeat use of the secondary fibres, it need deliberate the paper properties alter due to the fiber deterioration during the recycling, when many alteration are irreversible. The alteration depth depends on the cycle’s number and way to the fibres use. The main problem is the decrease of the secondary pulp mechanical properties with the continuing recycling, mainly the paper strength ( Khantayanuwong et al. 2002 ; Jahan 2003 ; Hubbe & Zhang 2005 ; Garg & Singh 2006 ; Geffertová et al. 2008 ; Sutjipto et al. 2008 ). This decrease is an effect of many alterations, which can but need not arise in the secondary pulp during the recycling process. The recycling causes the hornification of the cell walls that result in the decline of some pulp properties. It is due to the irreversible alterations in the cells structure during the drying ( Oksanen et al. 1997 ; Kim et al. 2000 ; Diniz et al. 2004 ).

The worse properties of the recycled fibres in comparison with the primary fibres can be caused by hornification but also by the decrease of the hydrophilic properties of the fibres surface during the drying due to the redistribution or migration of resin and fat acids to the surface ( Nazhad& Paszner 1994 ; Nazhad 2005 ). Okayama (2002 ) observed the enormous increase of the contact angle with water which is related to the fiber inactivation at the recycling. This process is known as „irreversible hornification“.

Paper recycling saves the natural wood raw stock, decreases the operation and capital costs to paper unit, decrease water consumption and last but not least this paper processing gives rise to the environment preservation (e.g. 1 t of waste paper can replace cca 2.5 m 3 of wood).

A key issue in paper recycling is the impact of energy use in manufacturing.Processing waste paper for paper and board manufacture requires energy that isusually derived from fossil fuels, such as oil and coal. In contrast to the productionof virgin fibre-based chemical pulp, waste paper processing does not yield a thermalsurplus and thus thermal energy must be supplied to dry the paper web. If,however, the waste paper was recovered for energy purposes the need for fossil fuelwould be reduced and this reduction would have a favourable impact on the carbondioxide balance and the greenhouse effect. Moreover, pulp production based onvirgin fibres requires consumption of round wood and causes emissions of air-pollutingcompounds as does the collection of waste paper. For better paper utilization, an interactive model, the Optimal Fibre Flow Model, considersboth a quality (age) and an environmental measure of waste paper recycling was developed ( Byström&Lönnstedt 1997 ).

2.1.1. Influence of beating on pulp fibres

Beating of chemical pulp is an essential step in improving the bonding ability of fibres. The knowledge complete about beating improves the present opinion of the fibres alteration at the beating. The main and extraneous influences of the beating device on pulps were defined.The main influences are these, each of them can be improve by the suitable beating mode, but only one alteration cannot be attained. Known are varieties of simultaneous changes in fibres, such as internal fibrilation, external fibrilation, fiber shortening or cutting, and fines formation ( Page 1989 ; Kang & Paulapuro 2006a ; Kang & Paulapuro 2006c ).

Freeing and disintegration of a cell wall affiliated with strongswelling expressed as an internal fibrilation and delamination. The delamination is a coaxial cleavage in the middle layer of the secondary wall.It causes the increased water penetration to the cell wall and the fibre plasticizing.

External fibrillation and fibrils peeling from surface, which particularly or fully attacks primary wall and outside layers of secondary walls.Simultaneously from the outside layers there arecleavage fibrils, microfibrils, nanofibrils to the macromolecule of cellulose and hemicelluloses.

Fibres shortening in any place in any angle-wise across fibre in accordance with loading, most commonly in weak places.

Concurrently the main effects at the beating also the extraneous effects take place, e.g. fines making, compression along the fibres axis, fibres waving due to the compression. It has low bonding ability and it influences the paper porosity,stocks freeness ( Sinke&Westenbroek 2004 ).

The beating causes the fibres shortening, the external and internal fibrillation affiliated with delamination and the fibres plasticizing. The outside primary wall of the pulp fibre leaks water little, it has usually an intact primary layer and a tendency to prevent from the swelling of the secondary layer of the cell wall. At the beating beginning there are disintegrated the fibre outside layers (P and S1), the fibrilar structure of the fibre secondary layer is uncovering, the water approach is improving, the swelling is taking place and the fibrillation process is beginning. The fibrillation process is finished by the weaking and cleavaging of the bonds between the particular fibrils and microfibrils of cell walls during the mechanical effect and the penetration into the interfibrilar spaces, it means to the amorphous region, there is the main portion of hemicelluloses.

Češek& Milichovský (2005 ) showed that with the increase of pulp beating degree the standard rheosettling velocity of pulp decreases more at the fibres fibrillation than at the fibres shortening.

Refining causes a variety of simultaneous changes in the fiber structure, such as internal fibrillation, external fibrillation and fines formation. Among these effects, swelling is commonly recognized as an important factor affecting the strength of recycled paper ( Kang & Paulapuro 2006d ).

Scallan & Tigerstrom (1991 ) observed the elasticity modulus of the long fibres from kraft pulp during the recycling. Flexibility decrease was evident at the beating degree decrease ( SR), and also with the increase of draining velocity of low-yield pulp.

Alteration of the breaking length of the paper sheet drying at the temperature of 80, 100 a 120°C during eightfold recycling

The selected properties of the pulp fibres and the paper sheets during the process of eightfold recycling at three drying temperatures of 80, 100, 120°C.

From the result on Fig. 2 we can see the increase of the pulp fibres active surface takes place during the beating process, which results in the improve of the bonding and the paper strength after the first beating. It causes also the breaking length increase of the laboratory sheets. The secondary fibres wear by repeated beating, what causes the decrease of strength values ( Table 1 ).

The biggest alterations of tear index ( Fig. 3 ) were observed after fifth recycling at the bleached softwood pulp fibres. The first beating causes the fibrillation of the outside layer of the cell wall, it results in the formation of the mechanical (felting) and the chemical bonds between the fibres. The repeated beating and drying dues, except the continuing fibrillation of the layer, the successive fibrils peeling until the peeling of the primary and outside secondary layer of the cell wall. It discovers the next non-fibriled layer S2 (second, the biggest layer of the secondary wall) what can do the tear index decrease. The next beating causes also this layer fibrillation, which leads to the increase of the strength value ( Fig. 3 , Tab. 1 ).Paper strength properties such as tensile strength and Scott bond strength were strongly influenced by internal fibrillation; these could also be increased further by promoting mostly external fibrillation ( Kang & Paulapuro 2006b ).

The course of the breaking length decrease and the tearing strength increase of the paper sheet is in accordance with the results of Sutjipto et al. (2008 ) at the threefold recycling of the bleached (88% ISO) softwood pulps prepared at the laboratory conditions, beated on PFI mill to 25 SR.

Tear index alteration of the paper sheets drying at the temperature of 80, 100 a 120°C, during eightfold recycling

Song & Law (2010 ) observedkraft pulp oxidation and its influence on recycling characteristics of fibres, the found up the fibre oxidation influences negatively the tear index of paper sheets.Oxidation of virgin fibre prior to recycling minimized the loss of WRV and sheet density.

The beating causes the fibres shortening and fines formation which is washed away in the large extent and it endeds in the paper sludges. This waste can be further processed and effective declined.

Within theEuropean Union several already issued and other foreseendirectives have great influence on the waste managementstrategy of paper producing companies. Due to the large quantities ofwaste generated, the high moisture content of the wasteand the changing composition, some recovery methods,for example, conversion to fuel components, are simplytoo expensive and their environmental impact uncertain.The thermal processes, gasification and pyrolysis, seem tobe interesting emerging options, although it is still necessaryto improve the technologies for sludge application.Other applications, such as the hydrolysis to obtain ethanol,have several advantages (use of wet sludge and applicabletechnology to sludges) but these are not welldeveloped for pulp and paper sludges. Therefore, at thismoment, the minimization of waste generation still hasthe highest priority ( Monte et al. 2009 ).

2.1.2. Drying influence on the recycled fibres

Characteristic differences between recycled fibres and virgin fibres can by expected. Many of these can by attributed to drying. Drying is a process that is accompanied by partially irreversible closure of small pores in the fibre wall, as well as increased resistance to swelling during rewetting. Further differences between virgin and recycled fibres can be attributed to the effects of a wide range of contaminating substances ( Hubbe et al. 2007 ). Drying, which has an anisotropic character, has a big influence on the properties of paper produced from the secondary fibres.During the drying the shear stress are formatted in the interfibrilar bonding area. The stresses formatted in the fibres and between them effect the mechanical properties in the drying paper. The additional effect dues the tensioning of the wet pulp stock on the paper machine.

During the drying and recycling the fibres are destructed. It is important to understand the loss of the bonding strength of the drying chemical fibres. Dang (2007 ) characterized the destruction like a percentage reduction of ability of the water retention value (WRV) in pulp at dewatering.

Hornification = [(WRV 0 -WRV 1 )/WRV 0 ]. 100 [%],

WRV 0 –is value of virgin pup

WRV 1 –the value of recycled pulp after drying and reslushing.

According to the prevailing concept, hornification occurs in the cell wall matrix of chemical fibres. During drying, delaminated parts of the fiber wall, i.e., cellulose microfibrils become attached as Fig. 4 shows ( Ackerman et al. 2000 ).

Changes in fiber wall structure ( Weise &Paulapuro 1996 )

Shrinkage of a fiber cross section ( Ackerman et al. 2000 )

Hydrogen bonds between those lamellae also form. Reorientation and better alignment of microfibrils also occur. All this causes an intensely bonded structure. In a subsequent reslushing in water, the fiber cell wall microstructure remains more resistant to delaminating forces because some hydrogen bonds do not reopen. The entire fiber is stiffer and more brittle ( Howard 1991 ). According to some studies ( Bouchard &Douek 1994 ; Maloney et al. 1998 ), hornification does not increase the crystallinity of cellulose or the degree of order in the hemicelluloses ofthe fiber wall.

The drying model of Scallan ( Laivins&Scallan 1993 ) suggests that hornification prevents the dry structure in A from fully expanding to the wet structure in D. Instead, only partial expansion to B may be possible after initial drying creates hydrogen bonds between the microfibrils( Kato & Cameron 1999 )

Weise & Paulapuro (1996 ) did very revealing work about the events during fiber drying. They studied fiber cross section of kraft fibers in various solids by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) and simultaneously measured hornification with WRV tests. Irreversible hornification of fibers began on the degree of beating. It does not directly follow shrinkage since the greatest shrinkage of fibers occurs above 80 % solids content. In Figs. 4 and 5 , stage A represented wet kraft fiber before drying. In stage B, the drainage has started tocause morphological changes in the fiber wall matrix at about 30 % solids content. The fiber wall lamellae start to approach each other because of capillary forces. During this stage, the lumen can collapse. With additional drying, spaces between lamellae continue shrinking to phase C where most free voids in the lamellar structure of the cell wall have already closed. Toward the end of drying in stage D, the water removal occurs in the fine structure of the fiber wall. Kraft fiber shrink strongly and uniformly during this final phase of drying, i.e., at solid contents above 75-80 %. The shrinkage of stage D is irreversible.

At a repeated use of the dried fibres in paper making industry, the cell walls receive the water again. Then the opposite processes take place than in the Fig. 4 and 5 . It show Scallan´s model of the drying in Fig. 6 .

The drying dues also macroscopic stress applied on paper and distributed in fibres system according a local structure.

2.1.3. Properties of fibres from recycled paper

The basic properties of origin wet fibres change in the drying process of pulp and they are not fully regenerated in the process of slushing and beating.

The same parameters are suitable for the description of the paper properties of secondary fibres and fibres at ageing as well as for description of primary fibres properties. The experiences obtained at the utilisation of waste paper showed the secondary fibres have very different properties from the origin fibres. Next recycling of fibres causes the formation of extreme nonhomogeneous mixture of various old fibres. At the optimum utilisation of the secondary fibres it need take into account their altered properties at the repeated use. With the increase number of use cycles the fibres change irreversible, perish and alter their properties. Slushing and beating causes water absorption, fibres swelling and a partial regeneration of properties of origin fibres. However the repeated beating and drying at the multiple production cycles dues the gradual decrease of swelling ability, what influences a bonding ability of fibres. With the increase of cycles number the fibres are shortened. These alterations express in paper properties. The decrease of bonding ability and mechanical properties bring the improving of some utility properties. Between them there is higher velocity of dewatering and drying, air permeability and blotting properties improve of light scattering, opacity and paper dimensional stability.

The highest alterations of fibres properties are at the first and following three cycles. The size of strength properties depends on fibres type ( Geffertová et al. 2008 ).

Drying influences fibres length, width, shape factor, kinks which are the important factors to the strength of paper made from recycled fibres. The dimensional characteristics are measured by many methods, known is FQA (Fiber Quality Analyser), which is a prototype IFA (Imaging Fiber Analyser) and also Kajaani FS-200 fibre-length analyser. They measure fibres length, different kinks and their angles. Robertson et al. (1999 ) show correlation between methods FQA and Kajaani FS-200. A relatively new method of fibres width measurement is also SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) ( Bennis et al. 2010 ). Among devices for analyse of fibres different properties and characteristics, e.g. fibres length and width, fines, various deformations of fibres and percentage composition of pulp mixture is L&W Fiber Tester (Lorentzen & Wettre, Sweden). At every measurement the minimum of 20 000 fibres in a sample is evaluated. On Fig. 7 there is expressed the alteration of fibres average length of softwood pulps during the eightfold recycling at the different drying temperature of pulp fibres.

Influence of recycling number and drying temperature on length of softwood pulps

Influence of recycling number and drying temperature on width of softwood pulps

The biggest alteration were observed after first beating (zero recycling), when the fibres average length decrease at the sheet drying temperature of 80°C about 17%, at the temperature of 100°C about 15.6% and at the temperature of 120°C about 14.6%.

After the first beating the fibres average width was markedly increased at the all temperatures dues to the fibrillation influence. The fibres fibrillation causes the fibre surface increase. Following markedly alteration is observed after fifth recycling, when the fibres average width was decreased. We assume the separation of fibrils and microfibrils from the cell walls dues the separation of the cell walls outside layer, the inside nonfibriled wall S2 was discovered and the fibres average width decreased. After the fifth recycling the strength properties became worse, mainly tear index ( Fig. 3 ).

The softwood fibres are longer than hardwood fibres, they are not so straight. The high value of shape factor means fibres straightness. The biggest alterations of shape factor can be observed mainly at the high drying temperatures. The water molecules occurring on fibres surface quick evaporate at the high temperatures and fibre more shrinks. It can result in the formation of weaker bonds between fibres those surfaces are not enough near. At the beginning of wet paper sheet drying the hydrogen bond creates through water layer on the fibres surface, after the drying through monomolecular layer of water, finally the hydrogen bond results after the water removal and the surfaces approach. It results in destruction of paper and fibre at the drying.

Chemical pulp fines are an important component in papermaking furnish. They can significantly affect the mechanical and optical properties of paper and the drainage properties of pulp ( Retulainen et al. 1993 ). Characterizing the fines will therefore allow a better understanding of the role of fines and better control the papermaking process and the properties of paper. Chemical pulp fines retard dewatering of the pulp suspension due to the high water holding capacity of fines. In the conventional method for characterizing the role of fines in dewatering, a proportion of fines is added to the fiber furnish, and then only the drainage time. Fines suspension is composed of heterogeneous fines particles in water. The suspension exhibits different rheological characteristics depending on the degree of interaction between the fines particles and on their hydration ( Kang & Paulapuro 2006b ).

From Fig. 9 we can see the highest formation of fines were after seventh and eight recycling, when the fibres were markedly weakened by the multiple using at the processes of paper making. They are easier and faster beating (the number of revolution decreased by the higher number of the recycling).

Influence of recycling process and drying temperature on pulp fines changes

The macroscopic level (density, volume, porosity, paper thickness) consists from the physical properties very important for the use of paper and paperboard. They indirectly characterize the three dimensional structure of paper ( Niskanen 1998 ). A paper is a complex structure consisting mainly of a fibre network, filler pigment particles and air. Light is reflected at fibre and pigment surfaces in the surface layer and inside the paper structure. The light also penetrates into the cellulose fibres and pigments, and changes directions. Some light is absorbed, but the remainder passes into the air and is reflected and refracted again by new fibres and pigments. After a number of reflections and refractions, a certain proportion of the light reaches the paper surface again and is then reflected at all possible angles from the surface. We do not perceive all the reflections and refractions (the multiple reflections or refractions) which take place inside the paper structure, but we perceive that the paper has a matt white surface i.e. we perceive a diffuse surface reflection. Some of the incident light exists at the back of the paper as transmitted light, and the remainder has been absorbed by the cellulose and the pigments. Besides reflection, refraction and absorption, there is a fourth effect called diffraction. In other contexts, diffraction is usually the same thing as light scattering, but within the field of paper technology, diffraction is only one aspect of the light scattering phenomenon. Diffraction occurs when the light meets particles or pores which are as large as or smaller then the wavelength of the light, i.e. particles which are smaller than one micrometer (μm). These small elements oscillate with the light oscillation and thus function as sites for new light sources. When the particles or pores are smaller than half of the light wavelength the diffraction decreases. It can be said that the light passes around the particle without being affected ( Pauler 2002 ).

The opacity, brightness, colouring and brilliance are important optical properties of papers and paperboards. For example the high value of opacity is need at the printing papers, but opacity of translucent paper must be lower. The paper producer must understand the physical principles of the paper structure and to determine their characteristics composition. It is possible to characterize nondirect the paper structure. The opacity characterizes the paper ability to hide a text or a figure on the opposite side of the paper sheet. The paper brightness is a paper reflection at a blue light use. The blue light is used because the made fibers have yellowish colour and a human eye senses a blue tone like a white colour.The typical brightness of the printing papers is 70 – 95% and opacity is higher than 90% ( Niskanen 1998 ).

3. Paper ageing

The recycled paper is increasingly used not only for the products of short term consumption (newspaper, sanitary paper, packaging materials e.g.), but also on the production of the higher quality papers, which can serve as a culture heritage medium. The study of the recycled papers alterations in the ageing process is therefore important, but the information in literature are missing.

The recycling is also another form of the paper ageing. It causes the paper alterations, which results in the degradation of their physical and mechanical properties. The recycling causes a chemical, thermal, biological and mechanical destruction, or their combination ( Milichovský 1994 ; Geffertová et al. 2008 ).The effect of the paper ageing is the degradation of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin macromolecules, the decrease of low molecular fractions, the degree of polymerisation (DP) decrease, but also the decline of the mechanical and optical properties ( El Ashmawy et al. 1974 ; Valtasaari & Saarela 1975 ; Lauriol et al. 1987a ,b,c; Bansa 2002 ; Havermans 2003 ; Dupont & Mortha 2004 ; Kučerová & Halajová, 2009 ; Čabalová et al. 2011 ).Cellulose as the most abundant natural polymer on the Earth is very important as a renewable organic material. The degradation of cellulosebasedpaper is important especially in archives and museums where ageing in various conditions reduces the mechanical properties and deteriorates optical quality of stored papers, books and other artefacts. The low rate of paper degradation results in the necessity of using accelerating ageing tests. The ageing tests consistin increasing the observed changes of paper properties, usually by using different temperature, humidity, oxygen content and acidity, respectively. Ageing tests are used in studies of degradation rate and mechanism. During the first ageing stages—natural or accelerated—there are no significant variations in mechanical properties: degradation evidence is only provided by measuring chemical processes. Oxidation induced by environmental conditions, in fact, causes carbonyl and carboxyl groups formation, with great impact on paper permanence and durability, even if mechanical characteristics are not affected in the short term ( Piantanida et al. 2005 ). During the degradation two main reactions prevail – hydrolysis of glycosidic bonds and oxidation of glucopyranose rings. As a result of some oxidation processes keto- and aldehyde groups are formed. These groups are highly reactive; they are prone to crosslinking, which is the third chemical process of cellulose decay ( Bansa 2002 , Calvini & Gorassini 2006 ).

At the accelerated paper ageing the decrease of DP is very rapid in the first stages of the ageing, later decelerates. During the longer time of the ageing there was determined the cellulose crosslinking by the method of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) ( Kačík et al. 2009 ). The similar dependences were obtained at the photo-induced cellulose degradation ( Malesic et al. 2005 ).

An attention is pay to the kinetic of the cellulose degradation in several decades, this process was studied by Kuhn in 1930 and the first model of the kinetic of the cellulose chains cleavage was elaborated by Ekenstam in 1936.This model is based on the kinetic equation of first-order and it is used to this day in modifications for the watching of the cellulose degradation in different conditions. Hill et al. (1995 ) deduced a similar model with the

Alterations of DP (degree of polymerisation) of cellulose fibres due to recycling and ageing at the pulp fibres drying temperature of 80°C, 100°C a 120°C.

contribution of the zero order kinetic. Experimental results are often controversial and new kinetic model for explanation of cellulose degradation at various conditions was proposed ( Calvini et al. 2008 ). The first-order kinetic model developed by these authors suggests that the kinetics of cellulose degradation depends upon the mode of ageing. An autoretardant path is followed during either acid hydrolysis in aqueous suspensions or oven ageing, while the production of volatile acid compounds trapped during the degradation in sealed environments primes an autocatalytic mechanism. Both these mechanisms are depleted by the consumption of the glycosidic bonds in the amorphous regions of cellulose until the levelling-off DP (LODP) is reached.

At the accelerated ageing ofnewspaper ( Kačík et al. 2008 ), the cellulose degradation causes the decrease of the average degree of polymerisation(DP). The DP decrease is caused by two factors in accordance with equation

DP = LODP + DP01.e -k1.t + DP02.e -k2.t ,

where LODP is levelling-off degree of polymerisation. There is a first factor higher and quickdecreasing during eight days and a second factor is lower and slow decreasing and dominant aftereight days of the accelerating ageing in the equation. The number of cleavaged bonds can be welldescribed by equation

DP 0 /DP t – 1 = n 0 .(1-e -k.t ),

where n 0 is an initial number of bonds available for degradation. The equation of the regression function is in accordance with Calvini et al. (2007 ) proposal, the calculated value (4.4976) is in a good accordance with the experimentally obtained average values of DP 0 a DP 60 (4.5057). The DP decreased to cca 38% of the initial value and the polydispersity degree to 66% of the initial value. The decrease of the rate constant with the time of ageing was obtained also by next authors ( Emsley et al. 1997 ; Zervos & Moropoulou 2005 ; Ding & Wang 2007 ). Čabalová et al. (2011 ) observed the influence of the accelerated ageing on the recycled pulp fibres, they determined the lowest decrease of DP at the fibres dried at the temperature of 120°C ( Fig. 10 ).

The simultaneous influence of the recycling and ageing has the similar impact at the drying temperatures of 80°C (decrease about 27,5 %) and 100°C (decrease about 27.6%) in regard of virgin pulp, lower alterations were at the temperature of 120°C (decrease about 21.5%). The ageing of the recycled paper causes the decrease of the pulp fiber DP, but the paper remains good properties.

4. Conclusion

The recycling is a necessity of this civilisation. The paper manufacturing is from its beginning affiliated with the recycling, because the paper was primarily manufactured from the 100 % furnish of rag. It is increasingly assented the trend of the recycled fibers use from the European and world criterion. The present European papermaking industry is based on the recycling.

The presence of the secondary fibres from the waste paper, their quality and amount is various in the time intervals, the seasons and the regional conditions. It depends on the manufacturing conditions in the paper making industry of the country.

At present the recycling is understood in larger sense than the material recycling, which has a big importance from view point of the paper recycling. Repeatedly used fibres do not fully regenerate their properties, so they cannot be recycled ad anfinitum. It allows to use the alternative possibilities of the paper utilisation in the building industry, at the soil reclamation, it the agriculture, in the power industry.

The most important aim is, however, the recycled paper utilisation for the paper manufacturing.

Acknowledgments

This work was financed by the Slovak Grant Agency VEGA (project number 1/0490/09).

• 11. CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industries). 2006 Special Recycling 2005 Statistics- European Paper Industry Hits New Record in Recycling. 27.02.2011, Available from: http://www.erpa.info/images/Special_Recycling_2005_statistics.pdf
• 12. CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industrie). 2010 Annual Statistic 2009. 27.02.2011, Available from: http://www.erpa.info/download/CEPI_annual_statistics%202009.pdf
• 18. European Declaration on Paper Recycling 2006 2010 , Monitoring Report 2009 (2010), 27.02. 2011, Available from: http://www.erpa.info/images/monitoring_report_2009.pdf

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A review of waste paper recycling networks focusing on quantitative methods and sustainability

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• Volume 23 , pages 55–76, ( 2021 )

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• Cristiane Maria Defalque   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6984-5405 1 , 2 ,
• Fernando Augusto Silva Marins 1 ,
• Aneirson Francisco da Silva 1 &
• Elen Yanina Aguirre Rodríguez 1  

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A discussion is currently under way in the literature on the sustainable benefits of recycling material, particularly paper, which has high global consumption and polluting capacity. Optimized planning of waste paper recycling networks stimulates sustainable processing efficiency, motivating the investigation of quantitative methods to guide decision-making. The objective of this article is to review papers that present quantitative models for planning waste paper recycling networks considering optimization of the echelons of this process, to analyze the evolution of research, find research opportunities and contribute to future research. The article presents an analysis of five categories of the selected studies: I—evolution of publications; II—echelons considered in different waste paper recycling systems; III—the sustainability pillars considered in the objectives of the formulated model; IV—formulations and techniques used; and V—uncertainty analysis. The proposal for waste paper recycling networks involves summary of the echelons considered in selected articles, to help future analysis. Research suggestions involving sustainability objectives, especially considering social issues, using different solution techniques and considering uncertainty were identified. This study, by reviewing the articles and identifying possibilities for future research, contributes to the development of research using quantitative methods for the efficient management of waste paper recycling networks or similar arrangements.

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Source: prepared by the authors. The data were obtained from Scopus— www.scopus.com and Web of Science— www.webofknowledge.com . The maps were built using VOSviewer [ 63 ]

Source: prepared by the authors

Source: prepared by the authors. Selected articles (Table 3 ) available in databases and other references described in “ Research method ”

Source: prepared by the author. Selected articles (Table 3 ) available in databases and other references described in “ Research method ”. Number of citations obtained from Scopus— www.scopus.com and Web of Science— www.webofknowledge.com

Source: prepared by the authors, based on echelons considered in the analyzed articles (Table 3 )

Source: prepared by the authors, based on echelons and operations verified in the analyzed articles (Table 3 )

Source: prepared by the authors, based on analyses of the selected articles (Table 3 )

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed in part by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq—302730/2018; CNPq—303350/2018-0), the São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP—2018/06858-0; FAPESP—2018/14433-0) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel—Brazil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001.

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• 16 November 2022

Recycling our way to sustainability

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Sarah King is a circular economy researcher at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.

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Evidence of the economic opportunities that a circular economy could bring is mounting. The potential environmental impact is also clear. The move to a circular economy — a system that aims to reduce, reuse and recycle materials — could address 70% of global greenhouse emissions 1 . As the benefits stack up, this transition is becoming a key focus for policymakers around the world. But there remains much confusion about what a circular economy is, and how it might be achieved.

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Nature 611 , S7 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03646-z

This article is part of Nature Outlook: The circular economy , an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content .

Circle Economy. The Circularity Gap Report 2022 1–64 (2022).

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Perceptions and realities of recycling vary widely from place to place

Most Americans have access to some sort of recycling program. However, the rules, practices and community norms around recycling vary considerably from place to place, contributing to dramatically different local recycling levels. People who live in places where social norms strongly encourage recycling are more likely to be aware of recycling rules, say they have more options for recycling, and see more of the waste they generate being recycled rather than landfilled, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

The survey, part of a study covering issues involving climate change, energy and the environment , found that about three-in-ten Americans (28%) say their local community’s social norms strongly encourage recycling and re-use. About a fifth (22%) say most people in their communities don’t really encourage recycling; the remaining half live in places where, they say, norms around recycling are somewhere in the middle.

The study comes as U.S. recycling rates, after rising for decades, have plateaued. The Environmental Protection Agency says that in 2013, the most recent year for which it has data, Americans recycled or composted 1.51 pounds of waste per day, a figure that’s changed little since 2006. On the other hand, Americans are doing better at creating less trash in the first place: Per-capita waste generation has fallen from 4.7 pounds per person per day in 2006 to 4.4 pounds in 2013, and total municipal solid waste generation fell by 3 million tons.

A recent study conducted for the Sustainable Packaging Coalition , an industry group, estimated that 94% of the U.S. population has some type of recycling program available to them: About 30% have curbside collection only, 43% have both curbside service and drop-off centers and 21% have drop-off programs only. (This generally aligns with findings from the EPA, which has estimated that in 2011, there were more than 9,800 curbside recycling programs throughout the U.S., covering more than 70% of the population.)

Curbside collection is more common in larger cities and towns: 93% of the communities in the SPC study with populations greater than 125,000 provided single-family curbside recycling, as opposed to 65% of communities with populations below 50,000. (The Pew Research Center survey, interestingly, found a similar pattern but with lower rates: About seven-in-ten people living in urban and suburban communities said they had curbside recycling, compared with just four-in-ten rural residents, or 40%.)

But just because recycling programs exist doesn’t mean everyone with access to them actually recycles. According to the EPA, only 34.3% of the 254.1 million tons of municipal solid waste generated in 2013 was recovered through recycling or composting; the overall recovery rate has actually slipped a bit since peaking at 34.7% in 2011. (“Municipal solid waste” is the term of art for what most of us think of as trash; it excludes construction and demolition debris, wastewater treatment sludges, and non-hazardous industrial wastes. “Recovery” includes recycling and composting, but not burning waste to produce energy.)

Other researchers using different methodologies have come up with higher waste-generation estimates and lower recovery rates. For example, a new report from the Environmental Research & Education Foundation  estimates U.S. municipal solid waste generation in 2013 at 347 million tons, with 27% of it being recycled or composted. Columbia University’s Earth Engineering Center , using a broader definition of municipal solid waste than the EPA, surveyed state and local waste management agencies and came up with an estimate of 389 million tons generated in 2011, with 29% recycled or composted.

Using data from the Columbia study, we calculated that California (53.4%), Maine (51.5%) and Washington state (50.1%) had the highest recovery rates for municipal solid waste in the nation in 2011; Oklahoma (3.7%), Alaska (4.5%) and Mississippi (4.8%) had the lowest.

Looking beyond these overall recovery rates, local recycling programs vary considerably in which materials they accept and the degree to which residents must separate different materials. The Pew Research Center survey found that 59% of the public believes that “most types of items” can be recycled in their community; another 26% characterize their options as “some,” and 13% say only a few types of items can be recycled where they live. And the people who live in places that strongly encourage recycling also are more likely to say that most types of items can be recycled there.

But the perception that communities recycle “most types of items” obscures the markedly different rates at which various types of waste actually are recycled or composted. According to our analysis of the EPA data, 99% of lead-acid batteries (the sort found in cars and trucks), 88.5% of corrugated cardboard boxes, and 67% of newspapers, directories and the like were recycled as of 2013. On the other hand, only 28.2% of high-density polyethylene containers (such as milk jugs) were recycled, as were 13.5% of plastic bags and wraps and only 6.2% of small appliances. Three-fifths (60.2%) of yard trimmings were composted, but just 5% of food waste was.

One category of solid waste that’s grown rapidly, in both quantity generated and amount recycled, is consumer electronics – TVs, computer equipment, phones, DVD players and the like. According to the EPA report , 40.4% of the 3.1 million tons of consumer electronics that entered the wastestream in 2013 were recycled, up from 30.6% in 2012.

About half (48%) of adults in the Pew Research Center survey say their community has services for recycling electronic devices, though about a third (34%) say they aren’t sure. People living in places that strongly encourage recycling in general are much more likely to say that electronics are recycled in their local areas most or some of the time, compared with people who live in communities that “do not really encourage” recycling (62% versus 15%).

A challenge for many community-based recycling programs, especially in recent years, is that they’re losing money. Recycling, at root, is a commodity business, and lower prices for wood pulp, aluminum, oil (out of which plastics are made) and other feedstock commodities are pushing many recyclers into the red . That, in turn, has forced localities to pay recycling companies to accept their collected bottles, cans and paper, when just a few years ago the recyclers paid them.

Advocates say there are other important considerations in favor of recycling – prime among them that making products with recycled materials rather than virgin stock uses less energy and thus creates fewer greenhouse-gas emissions. The EPA estimates that the 87.2 million tons of materials recycled or composted in 2013 reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of more than 186 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. However, critics point out that almost 80% of those greenhouse-gas benefits come from paper and paperboard recycling, and most of the remainer comes from recycling steel, aluminum and other metals.

Note: The topline for the Pew Research Center survey is available here (PDF) , and the methodology is here .

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119 Recycling Essay Topics & Examples

☝️ 12 top recycling research topics, 🏆 best recycling topics & essay examples, 🔎 good recycling essay topics, ⭐ simple & easy recycling essay titles, ❓ research questions about recycling.

Recycling essays are helpful for letting you understand the scope of the pollution issue and the methods humanity can use to reduce its effects and move to safe practices.

Various international organizations are concerned about the topic, and expressions of support for initiatives to recycle waste include the institution of holidays such as the World Environment Day.

There are various ideas about the measures that can be taken to protect the environment, which you can use as recycling essay hooks, but not all of them are viable, as money and technological concerns interfere with the process of best taking out waste strongly.

To create an interesting and powerful essay, you will want to introduce a solid structure that will add clarity and purpose to your writing.

The act of creating a structure begins with the creation of an introduction, a section where you will familiarize the reader with the context of the essay and create a thesis statement.

Try to avoid mentioning facts that are not common knowledge and avoid using citations, as you are trying to give a general overview of the field as you see it.

Approach the thesis statement with care, as it will be at the center of your essay, and all of your arguments should support its idea or answer its question. As such, the introduction will set the direction of your essay, providing the first significant element of its structure.

The next step should be the writing of an outline, a chart of how you will select topics to discuss and organize them in the essay. To construct it, you will first want to write down all of the different concepts you see as applicable to the thesis as recycling essay titles.

Then, eliminate them or fold them into other headings until you have a sufficiently small number remaining that you can elaborate on each one within the essay’s limitations. The last part is to organize them in a set order so that they follow some logical structure and support each other.

You can then use the outline elements as titles for different sections of your essay. With this, the basic structure should be complete, and you can proceed to write your essay. Here are a few tips to help you as you work:

• Use transition words to improve the flow of your essay and help it appear as a single stream instead of a collection of disconnected points. Examples of transition words include also, however, therefore, first of all, accordingly, and specifically.
• Try to begin and end your paragraphs with connecting sentences that establish a connection with the previous and next blocks of text. The rest of the paragraph will be the body that presents your arguments, mirroring the layout of the overall essay.
• Be sure to link every point you make to your thesis in an explicit manner. The approach improves the structure of your essay by making it clear how everything you say is related to your central message.
• Finish the paper with a conclusion that will sum up the information provided in the essay. Do not introduce any new data or reasoning that was not presented before in your recycling essay conclusions.
• Finish the paragraph with final remarks that describe your perception of the findings and the future directions you suggest.

If you require more help in your writing, find recycling essay topics and other useful samples at IvyPanda!

• Recycling in Japan vs. the US: Compare and Contrast.
• The Benefits of Recycled Waste Management.
• How Can We Reuse Glass in Construction?
• Medical Waste During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
• The Glass Disposal System in the US.
• The Pressing Issue of Environmental Protection.
• New Ways to Dispose of Radioactive Waste.
• Reasons to Continue Using Plastic Bottles.
• How to Improve Personal Protective Equipment.
• Disposable Face Masks: Impact on Ecology.
• Pros and Cons of Plastic Bags.
• How Recycling Can Influence the Economy.
• Recycling Problems and Its Solutions When comparing the past and present world, it is not wrong for one to argue that there are likelihoods of extinction of all living species if pollution continues with the present rate.
• Recycling in the UAE Thus, the selection of the materials is to go through several steps: An engineer is to consider all materials and find out which materials can be used according to the design requirements; The materials’ attributes […]
• Water Recycling Recycled water is obtained from waste water and contaminated water that has been subjected to thorough treatment to ensure that it is proper for use for different purposes.
• Food Waste Recycling Benefits Through the analysis of Gupta and Gangopadhyay, it was noted that food waste was one of the leading preventable contributors towards the sheer amount of trash that winds up in many of the today’s landfills.
• Aluminium Cans Recycling The process of remelting the cans is much less expensive and less damaging to the environment than making new ones.”Creating new containers and making new aluminium involves electrolysis of aluminium oxide, which has to be […]
• Importance of Recycling in Conservation of the Environment This piece of work looks at the different aspects associated with the process of recycling with much emphasis being given to the history of recycling and the facts associated with recycling process.
• Plastic Bags, Effects, Recycling, and Reusability People have to think where the rest of the bags are and understand that this part of plastic continues making harm to nature.
• Ensuring Healthy and Clean Environment: Importance of Recycling Ensuring that we have air to breathe, water to drink and that we do not create a planet which becomes the very cause for the end of the human race.
• Economics of Recycling: Benefits and Costs This is done with the intention of reducing the wastage of wasteful materials and also to try and avoid the excessive use of fresh raw materials and the reduction of energy use, environmental pollution, and […]
• “The Reign of Recycling” Article by Tierney With the growth and development of technologies and the industrial industry, the sphere of waste and garbage processing began to develop.
• Is Recycling Good for the Environment? Recycling is good for the environment and should be included in the daily routine of any person that cares about the planet and the future of our children.
• Recycling in Campus The objective is to minimize the potential waste of valuable resources. It also helps in the management of the use of new raw materials.
• Recycling Greywater for Irrigation and Landscaping Applications In the face of the current water shortage, there is a need to safeguard clean water resources by reusing water. The purpose of this project is to develop a greywater recycling system for landscape irrigation […]
• Plastic Waste Materials Recycling Recycling of plastic wastes reduces the effects of plastics on the environment and promotes economic gain. It notes that we cannot sustain the current trends observed in plastics production, usages, and disposal due to the […]
• Recycling Practices Among Latinos in the U.S. I wish to express my most profound gratitude to Norman Nimmo, the Municipal Recycling Coordinator for the City of Lawrence, for allowing me the opportunity to meet him to discuss the town’s new waste management […]
• Waste Recycling Technologies in Dubai The purpose of the current research is to investigate the trend of recycling in Dubai. To evaluate the statistical relationship between the monthly household income and the frequency of recycling for a household.
• S&S Recycling: A Business Plan S&S Recycling is a company that collects recycled material and offers it to the companies that produce their goods from recycled resources.
• Should Recycling Be Mandatory? To summarize, since recycling provides humanity with efficient solutions for the problem of energy consumption and business entities can be unethical in this aspect, it is essential to make recycling mandatory.
• Recycling Plastic Waste as Class Activity After summarizing the different types of plastics and their composition, students held discussions to describe the various uses of plastic, particularly in packaging.
• Management Recycling of the Waste The requirement of this assignment was to collect and recycle different kinds of household items from the trash. In the first week five plastic cups were collected, which were kept in the storage area.
• Ontario Waste Recycling Policy To understand the effectiveness of Ontario’s Waste Diversion Act, 2002, the Environment Accounts and Statistics Division of Statistics Canada has become a critical body for collecting, analyzing, and providing trends and practices on waste management […]
• Does Recycling Harm the Environment? Recycling is the activity that causes the most damage to the environment. Summarizing the above, it is necessary to state that waste recycling has a negative connotation in relation to nature and the environment.
• The Breakdown and Recycling of Neurotransmitters Finally, drugs can also prevent the onset of action potentials by blocking the neural activity of the central and peripheral nervous systems.
• Recycling in Florida: Why Is It Important? As a way of cleaning the environment and helping the community, Florida has reintroduced the current recycling era, which began with the passing of the Florida Legislature.
• Mandatory Recycling Program in Murray Recycling solves this problem because it lessens the quantity of waste released into the environment, conserves valuable space, and minimizes the likelihood of health issues spreading in the city. Door-to-door collection, which aims for high […]
• Public Relations Campaign for Hewlett-Packard’s Recycling Program in Britain Part of the activities of this program is the sensitization of consumers on e-waste and the recycling of computers and their components.
• Best Buy’s Recycling Service as Form Utility Due to the focus on the requirements and demands of the audience, particularly the plight to make the process of recycling more accessible for the general population, Best Buy’s new service is a prime example […]
• Newspaper Collection and General Recycling GR has a higher responsibility for quality due to the specifics of the general disposal and specifies the quantity and class of the material before collection.
• “Recycling in America Is a Mess” by Kimmelman It discusses the current situation with waste disposal in the United States, recycling of plastic, and emphasizes the problems in modern American society concerning these issues.
• Ms. Clare’s Interview on a Recycling Program She took the initiative to have programs that aimed to inform people of the importance of recycling.Ms. Clare was not happy with the pollution in her city, thus prompting her to start a program to […]
• Reign of Recycling and Waste Management Problem Despite the established opinion about the benefits of recycling, John Tierney, the author of the article, debates the advantages of this process.
• Attitude Towards Recycling During COVID-19 The topic of the research will be directly related to the field of environmental issues through the prism of the current global conditions.
• Plastic Recycling at a University: Effects of Number and Location of Bins In summary, in the article “Effects of number and location of bins on plastic recycling at a university,” the authors O’Connor et al.discuss the relevance of the practices that aim to enhance adherence to the […]
• Aluminum Can Recycling: Eco-Efficiency The drawn cup is moved to another machine where a sleeve is used to hold the cup in a specific position; punch is then used to redraw the cup to attain a diameter of 6.6cm.
• Fabric Recycling: Environmental Collapse With the development of the textile industry and trends in fast fashion, cotton clothing is no longer a durable item in the consumer’s closet.
• Proper Recycling of E-Waste in the Southern New Jersey Community The essay will specifically look at e-waste management in the US. In particular, the essay will analyze the Southern New Jersey community in regards to the same.
• Recycling Plastic: Exploration of Opportunities With all the useful properties of recycled plastics, it is possible to produce high-quality goods that are sustainable and convenient in use.
• Paper Recycling: Environmental and Business Issues In order for paper to be properly recycled, the several types of paper must be separated because the different types of paper must be used for different types of products. This is the most common […]
• S&S Recycling Finance Options To choose the right financial strategy for the S&S Recycling Company, which is going to offer its litter-picking services for the neighborhood, as well as raw materials for furniture-producing companies, a careful evaluation of the […]
• Managing Natural Resources: Recycling At the same time, the discussion explains the benefits, which have the likelihood of attainment in recycling. Burning of papers promotes a higher level of forest and tree degradation in the process of production of […]
• The City of Adelaide Green Waste Recycling Centre The Green Waste Recycling Centre features in the city of Adelaide. The Adelaide Green Waste Recycling Centre is an initiative of the local government authority of the Adelaide City of Australia.
• Kuwait: Recycling of Carbon Dioxide Every educated and articulate opinion leader accepts the conventional wisdom that the unabated emission of greenhouse gases is slowly choking the earth, preventing heat from dissipating into space. For perspective, the chief “greenhouse gas” is […]
• Electronic Waste and Recycling Fees The purpose of this paper is to examine the consequences of e-waste disposal in various fields and social groups, the electronics recycling fee issue for North Dakota, and other measures to develop the current situation.
• Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Analysis AERT was established in the United States of America in the year 1988, and operates through a network of manufacturing plants located in the states of Oklahoma, Texas and several facilities in the state of […]
• Recycling Tires in the UAE The purpose of this study is to prove that the recycling of used tires can be financially and environmentally beneficial for the UAE.
• Electronic Waste Management and Recycling In this modern era, going green is the main concern of companies and thus a stance for competition for the majority.
• Recycling Is Not Garbage The plastic recycling is the most common and the public is actively involved in collection of the materials to be recycled.
• Realizing the Emerging Importance of Recycling Also, surveying the data of where the trash end up around the world in Table 1, we can see that maximum number of trash goes to landfills and where space is a problem, incineration is […]
• Public Speaking: Why Recycling Is Important The intention of such a program is to make “recycling of lead batteries easier and more profitable to recycle would lead to more extensive recycling programs.
• Augusta Disposal & Recycling Inc.: Job Redesign and Workplace Rewards The position of the division excludes self-management in a way that the workers are not responsible for any decisions and consists merely of following the initiations of the superior personnel.
• Recycling the End of Life Vehicles This report examines the impacts of the insinuation of this legalization with respect to the design of the vehicle components in a vehicle to look at what is being prepared by the industry to meet […]
• Recycling Batteries: An In-Depth Look The first point is about the environmental impacts of the non-recycled used batteries and how these impacts affect people in their daily life. Batteries can be of two general types: the primary battery and the […]
• Recycling Plastic Packaging as an Enterprise For this purpose, two types of personalities that contribute to the waste rate most will have to be selected and analysed.
• Electronics Recycling Law of Illinois The law of 2017 defined the procedure for the work of companies engaged in the production of electronic equipment and established legislation that calls for the disposal of hazardous waste.
• Tri-County Recycling Project Analysis Therefore, by voicing the concern and pointing at the obvious flaws in the current design of the state policy towards waste management, the Tri-County Project should clearly be viewed as a major foot forward in […]
• Waste Management in Food Processing: Different Types of Wastes and Recycling Ways Even though countries use a variety of ways to manage waste, the research suggests that they are not sufficiently effective and the accumulating waste poses a danger to the well-being of the population.
• Ablution Water Recycling in Mosques To ensure a safe and fulfilling life for humans and animals on our planet, it is critical to preserve freshwater and avoid wasting it. Water is a critical element that is essential for the life […]
• Interface Inc.’s Products and Recycling Strategies Waste reduction is one of the major issues to solve as the size of landfills is alarming, and the biodiversity of the planet is in danger.
• Innovative Recycling Competition: Educating the Public However, for the initiative to be successful, it is pivotal to draw a sufficient number of participants to take part in the project.
• Improving Recycling Behavior in Dubai: Group Project This part of the proposal gives a detailed analysis of the first initiative that is expected to form the backbone of the final research project. A powerful plan will be used to implement the proposed […]
• Sustainable Energy: Recycling of Cars in Germany The core theme of the paper is the comparative analysis of steel and aluminum and the advantages of these materials from the recycling perspective.
• Car Recycling: Direct and Indirect Energy Use It is also suggested that one of the potential dangers of lack of attention to how minimizing the weight of a car can reduce energy consumption and improve various aspects of the recycling process is […]
• Balance of Payments and Petrodollar Recycling The balance of payments in a country demonstrate the records of all the economic transactions that take place between the residents in a particular country and those living in other parts of the world for […]
• Dumfries Recycling Plant’s Sustainability This matter will help underline the importance of recycling in the society and attract the attention of the governmental authorities. In this case, being ‘green’ pertains to the characteristic of a product, which tends to […]
• Aluminum Recycling in Six Sigma Study in Kentucky By informing the readers about this, the case teaches us to understand the significant role of aluminum recycling in benefiting the economy of the US.
• Plastic Wastes Recycling Plant in the United Arab Emirates Sustainability of a project depends on the ability of the management unit to understand the environmental factors that may pose any form of threat to its normal operations.
• The Inventory Plan: PET-bottles Recycling For this reason, I want to point out that the most important steps, which the goal includes, are considered to be production of the item materials, transportation of the product, the product fabrication and postconsumer […]
• The Cost-Effectiveness of Recycling Plastic Most of the manufacturers have always considered the manufacturing of new plastic products to be more cost-effective as compared to the recycling of used materials.
• Recycling Company Risks and Opportunities A close proximity to the key target customers and a reasonable pricing policy coupled with the quality of the product will provide a smooth ground for the organization to commence its growth.
• Pontrelli Recycling Inc’s Project Management The first amongst the planning activities is the fact that project managers must comprehend the firm’s economic goals and other objectives to enable them align project operations to financial goals.
• Project Management: A Platform Project for Waste Recycling in SMEs and Public Companies Seeing how the manufacturing process includes the location of the resources and the transportation of the given resources to the end customer and, in fact, cannot be viewed outside the manufacturing process, it will be […]
• Nuclear Energy Usage and Recycling The resulting energy is used to power machinery and generate heat for processing purposes. The biggest problem though is that of energy storage, which is considered to be the most crucial requirement for building a […]
• Recycling Firm Business Plan The business will be called “Greensipi” – a plastic recycling firm that will be responsible for number of products and services.
• To Use or not to Reuse: A Case for Recycling Since getting people to reduce the amount of trash they produce may be hard to achieve, recycling is the most feasible solution to the problem.
• Recycling of Wastewater for Agricultural Use in Arid Areas Given that in these arid areas water is a rare commodity, recycling of wastewaters has been considered as one of the ways that can be used to increase the amount of water for irrigation for […]
• The Dilemma Surrounding Recycling One of the arguments used by recycling supporters is that the government takes full responsibility of the funding of recycling activities.”Government supports lots of services that the free market would not provide, such as the […]
• Recycling’s Management and Potential Throughout the process of ten weeks various types of plastic materials had been collected and stored so that when we resell these items after ten long weeks, we are able to easily tell the difference […]
• What Are the Seven Benefits of Recycling?
• How Can the Recycling of Concrete Waste Be Increased in the UK?
• What Is the Future of Recycling?
• Does Teaching School Children About Recycling Reduce Household Waste?
• Why Reducing and Reusing Are Much Better Than Recycling?
• How Does Recycling Affect the Environment?
• How Can Waste Recycling Help Overcome an Emerging Threat to the Environment?
• How Does Recycling Work?
• Are You Needlessly Recycling Emotional Pain?
• Why Is Recycling So Important?
• Does Recycling Improve Information Usefulness of Income?
• Why Should Recycling Not Be Banned?
• How Does Recycling Effect the Environment?
• Are Recycling People Also Saving?
• What Are the Pros and Cons of Recycling?
• Why Recycling Helps Solve Climate Change Issues?
• How Does the Environment Benefit From Recycling?
• How Can Communities and Governments Encourage Recycling
• Should Recycling Used Materials Necessary?
• What Are the Main Benefits of Recycling?
• Can Public Construction and Demolition Data Describe Trends in Building Material Recycling?
• Does Recycling Benefit the Environment?
• Does Waste Management Policy Crowd Out Social and Moral Motives for Recycling?
• Why Did Sewage Recycling Schemes Claim a Great Deal of Attention in Mid-Victorian Britain?
• What Is the Biggest Problem With Recycling?
• Why Is Recycling No Longer Profitable?
• What Explains the Intention to Bring Mobile Phones for Recycling?
• Are Our Recycling Efforts Worth the Trouble?
• How Recycling Reduces Greenhouse Effect?
• What Will Happen if We Don’t Recycle?
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Recycling - List of Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

Recycling involves the process of collecting, processing, and reusing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash. Essays could discuss the benefits of recycling on the environment, economy, and communities, the challenges and solutions to effective recycling systems, and public policies that encourage or mandate recycling. A vast selection of complimentary essay illustrations pertaining to Recycling you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Why should Recycling be Mandatory?

Even though you may think this essay is trash. Please don't throw it away. Recycle it instead. Did you know that Americans throw away enough aluminum every month to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet. Recycling has been around for many years but the people on the earth are not taking it seriously. The waste on the earth is piling up and keeps accumulating everyday which can be reduced by recycling. With people speaking out about recycling and how the […]

Is Recycling Good for our Environment?

What is Recycling? How is Recycling done? Why should people Recycle? What is affected by Recycling? Recycling is the process of reusing material, It is done by breaking down material and using it for something else, like aluminum, If people recycle then future populations will also have raw materials. The atmosphere is affected by not Recycling. Recycling is the process of reusing material. For example, an aluminum can take only 60 days to be brought back onto the Supermarket shelf […]

Our Planet is Drowning in Plastic Pollution

In 2018, recycling and not littering has become very common for an average person in California. Despite the hard work and dedication to recycling and giving people fines for littering any piece of trash, we still have a problem with plastic waste and taking care of the environment. Recycling bins are known to be around for a while now and are used to help reduce the polluting of our environment. However plastic waste is the one product that is destroying […]

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Recycling should be Mandatory

All around the world countless numbers of people like the thought of recycling, but most individuals never choose to recycle. Recycling is a process in which you take materials that you would normally throw away and reuse them to form new products (Rinkesh). University students around the world studied that environmental awareness has to do with how much we choose to recycle (Ramayah). For the people who do choose to recycle trash or other recyclable goods usually do it to […]

Education and Awareness of Recycling

For the past few days of lab, we have been focusing on our field study report and our topic is on recycling. Specifically, we have been focusing on the recycling of aluminum cans. There are benefits when it comes to recycling and there are also consequences if we do not recycle. According to marck.net, the amount of aluminum cans sent to landfills every year is nearly around $1 billion. The amount of aluminum cans thrown away worldwide each year is […]

Plastics and Toxins

Introduction 1) Plastics i) Plastic consumption ii) Recycling initiatives 2) Biodegradable i) Are there biodegradable alternatives ii) Obstacles faced 3) Toxins i) Toxins in household items ii) Alternatives iii) Toxins in clothing 4) Regulations on toxin production 5) Personal commodity used Plastic is a synthetic material which is made from a wide range of organic polymers like polyethylene, PVC, and nylon, and could be molten and shaped while they are soft. Today, the world`s population has found plastics to be […]

Benefits of Recycling

There is an increased demand for electronic devices all over the world, especially for those desiring to make life simpler and safer. These devices have many positive effects on human life, but they also take a major toll on the environment, contributing to major pollution and waste. Since the 20th century, the increase in production of human waste has stimulated quick steps to be taken in developing different methods of recycling products. The increasing disposal of products being consumed, like […]

What is Recycling?

Recycling is the process of treating used or waste materials to make them suitable for reuse. The phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" has been spread across the nation. However, recycling is still a problem across the U.S. Not only are we not recycling enough, but sometimes we don't recycle correctly. There are many ways that the efforts toward recycling could be increased with help from the federal government. Although recycling has been around for some time, it has not been able […]

Environmental Benefits of Reycling

The amount of waste the United States makes in one year is sickening. United States residences waste around 4.7 pounds of trash each day. There are 326 million people in the United States. If you multiply 4.7 by 326 million, it will equal 1.53 billion pounds of trash. We may not think that we waste that much but if we do the math then we simply use too much. We consume too many natural resources when we don't need to. […]

Recycling of Plastic

For every innovation there are consequences. Plastic is a common term for synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers (dictionary.com). The term plastic is used unusually lightly in today’s world, ignoring its massive negative impact on our environment and overall health. For over 50 years, we have used plastic in our everyday routines, from brushing our teeth with a colorful synthetic material to purchasing plastic phone cases with aesthetically pleasing designs. Today we live in the “Age […]

Recycling and Waste

Before we start discussing the benefits of recycling and how we can promote it into our communities, we need to know what recycling is. Recycling is the process of converting old, unused and waste materials into a new form of usable materials. We can recycle metals, wood, glass, plastic, paper, and textiles to use it again and again. Recycling has so many benefits for individuals, community, and environment. Recycling helps us reduce pollution. By recycling waste, we reduce the number […]

Food Waste in United States

In average, an American citizen will produce 4.4 pounds of trash in a single day. With the population of the United States being about 324 million, this equates daily to about 700,000 tons of trash produced. The biggest amount of wasted resources, though, is food waste. 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted across the globe in the span of one year (Loki). The effect of this kind of waste on the environment is extremely destructive and detrimental. […]

Persuasive Speech on Recycling: Harnessing Resource Efficiency for a Future

The Essence of Recycling “In a broad sense, recycling is part of an ethic of resource efficiency – of using products to their fullest potential. When recycled material, rather than raw material, is used to make a new product, natural resources and energy are conserved. This is because recycled materials have already been refined and processed once; manufacturing the second time is much cleaner and less energy-intensive than the first. For example, manufacturing with recycled aluminum cans uses 95 percent […]

Selecting of Material which Will Provide Less Carbon Footprint

Introduction Mike Biddle said:’ There is no rubbish in the world. The reason why we call them rubbish is that we do not know how to use them in the correct way.’Since polymer was used to make tires, a large amount of scrap tires have been produced every year: In 2017, the production of tires increased, and the mass of scrap tires was over 13,000,000 tons. This fact arouses social concern, and the research on tires has become more and […]

Nike’s History, its Position and Purpose in the Market

The human population is constantly growing and with that growth, come new minds whom have a vision for creating innovative products that will revolutionize the world. In the early 1970’s, there were two men with a vision who changed the athletic world forever. Phil Knight, a University of Oregon track student athlete, and his coach, Bill Bowerman, were the visionaries and creators for a brand of athletic gear recognized by the masses worldwide. This gear can be found in any […]

Climate Change, Construction Safety and Green Buildings

Global warming is a majorly discussed topic in this era. Whenever a heat wave or flood occurs in any region, people cannot stop themselves from bringing up the global warming subject because it is an issue that concerns everyone, whether we agree on it or not. Global warming is defined as a gradual increase in the Earth's atmosphere and oceans' average temperatures, resulting in a permanent change of the Earth's climate. The planet is warming based on data and facts […]

The Unsung Heroes of Recycling: a Dive into the World of Scrap Metal

Picture this: you're walking past a junkyard or a construction site, and you see piles of metal - old cars, broken appliances, wires, and whatnot. It might look like a heap of junk, but in reality, it's a goldmine, an essential part of our recycling and sustainability efforts. Let's roll up our sleeves and explore the underappreciated world of scrap metal, shall we? First off, let’s talk about cars. Ever wondered what happens to your ride when it's past its […]

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How to Write an Essay About Recycling

Understanding the concept of recycling.

Before writing an essay about recycling, it's important to understand what recycling is and why it's important. Recycling involves the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products. Begin your essay by explaining the basic process of recycling and its significance in environmental conservation. Discuss the types of materials that can be recycled, such as paper, plastic, glass, and metals, and how recycling these materials helps reduce waste, conserve natural resources, cut down on pollution, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Developing a Thesis Statement

A strong essay on recycling should be centered around a clear, concise thesis statement. This statement should present a specific viewpoint or argument about recycling. For example, you might argue the benefits of recycling for the environment and economy, analyze the challenges and limitations of current recycling practices, or advocate for increased public awareness and policy support for recycling initiatives. Your thesis will guide the direction of your essay and provide a structured approach to your topic.

Gathering Supporting Evidence

To support your thesis, gather evidence from various sources, including environmental studies, governmental reports, and case studies. This might include statistics on recycling rates, research findings on the environmental impact of recycling, or examples of successful recycling programs. Use this evidence to support your thesis and build a persuasive argument. Be sure to consider different perspectives and address potential counterarguments.

Analyzing the Impact of Recycling

Dedicate a section of your essay to analyzing the impact of recycling. Discuss how recycling helps in waste management and conservation of resources, and explore the economic benefits of recycling, such as job creation and revenue generation. Also, consider the challenges in recycling, such as contamination of recyclable materials, the complexity of recycling certain products, and public participation levels.

Concluding the Essay

Conclude your essay by summarizing the main points of your discussion and restating your thesis in light of the evidence provided. Your conclusion should tie together your analysis and emphasize the importance of recycling as a key component of environmental sustainability. You might also want to suggest ways to improve recycling practices or encourage greater public participation in recycling programs.

Reviewing and Refining Your Essay

After completing your essay, review and refine it for clarity and coherence. Ensure that your arguments are well-structured and supported by evidence. Check for grammatical accuracy and ensure that your essay flows logically from one point to the next. Consider seeking feedback from peers, educators, or environmental experts to further improve your essay. A well-written essay on recycling will not only demonstrate your understanding of the topic but also your ability to engage with and analyze important environmental issues.

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