How Many Times Can Paper be Recycled?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency and theconversation.com, more paper is recovered from the municipal solid waste stream than glass, plastic, steel and aluminum combined by weight.

The grade of paper is determined by fiber length, which shortens after each trip through the recycling process. After being recycled five to seven times, the fibers become too short to make new paper and will need to be mixed with new, un-recycled fibers. 

Paper is sorted into different grades. For example, newspaper is a lower grade paper because it has already been recycled numerous times, while printer paper is higher-grade paper, with longer fibers.

Some of the terminology related to paper or paper product recycling includes:

Every ton of paper recovered reduces the amount of materials sent to landfills by 3.3 cubic yards, extending the useful life of many landfills.  Paper is a widely recycled and widely used commodity, which unfortunately has a limited recycling life.

For more information on recycling visit www.wasteawaygroup.com.

earth911.com