wastepaper

Wastepaper refers to paper that has been discarded after use and is collected for recycling. It encompasses post-consumer waste, such as household and office paper, newspapers, magazines, and packaging paper, as well as pre-consumer scrap from manufacturing processes. The composition of wastepaper varies by source and region, but it is primarily cellulose fiber with inks, coatings, adhesives, and fillers. The fibers can be recycled multiple times, though the mechanical strength and fiber length degrade with each cycle, limiting the number of suitable recycling iterations.

Wastepaper is typically sorted by grade and contaminants, baled, and sent to a paper recycling facility. There it is pulped in water to separate fibers from contaminants. In-plant and consumer printed matter may undergo deinking to remove inks, pigments, and glues; coatings and plastics are also removed when possible. The resulting pulp is refined and mixed with other fibers, sometimes with virgin pulp, and then formed into sheets to make new paper products. The choice of process depends on the desired end product, with chemical pulping producing higher-quality white papers and mechanical pulping used for lower-grade products such as newsprint or tissue.

Environmental and economic considerations include reduced demand for virgin timber, lower energy and water use when optimized, and diversion from landfills. Challenges include contamination, sorting costs, ink and adhesive residues, and diminishing fiber length after repeated recycling. Effective wastepaper recycling depends on consumer participation, well-designed collection systems, and markets for recycled paper grades.