The Print Finish Blog
by The Print Finish Blog

Recycled Paper Quality Same as Virgin Paper

May 20, 2009 · Filed Under Green Printing, Print Shop, Small Business 

A process that has been around for many years, but is still relatively new to the public is paper recycling. It’s an important process in green printing and in keeping the environment healthy.

So just what is paper recycling?

It’s a process of recovering waste paper and remaking it into new paper products. Almost any household paper can be recycled, including used newspapers, cardboard, packaging, stationery, direct mail, magazines, catalogues, greeting cards and wrapping paper.

Waste paper can be disposed of in three ways. It can be buried, burned, or recycled, and it goes without saying that recycling is the preferred method of “disposal.” There are three categories of paper that can be used as feedstocks for making recycled paper. These are mill broke, pre-consumer waste, and post-consumer waste.

Mill broke is paper trimmings and other paper scrap from the manufacture of paper, and is recycled internally in a paper mill. Pre-consumer waste is material that was discarded before it was ready for consumer use and post-consumer waste is material discarded after consumer use such as old magazines, old telephone directories, and residential mixed paper. Paper that is suitable for recycling is called scrap.

And it makes a lot of sense to buy recycled paper. Paper purchasers can protect the environment, save money, and purchase the best papers available just by buying recycled paper.

A few reasons to buy recycled paper

  • It meets the same technical specifications as virgin papers, it runs on the most demanding copiers, office machines, and printing presses.
  • Many recycled copy papers work well in copiers.
  • It comes in a variety of colors, is available in virtually every grade of paper.
  • Financially it’s an accountant’s dream as it’s no more expensive than regular “virgin” paper.
  • Using recycled paper saves trees, energy, water, and landfill space.
  • It produces less pollution than virgin paper production.
  • It offers environmental savings many times over, since fibers can be recycled repeatedly.

    • But what about the quality of recycled paper?

    It’s true that as late as the 80s, recycled paper was often of uneven quality, sometimes appearing dark and spotted. Throughout the years, the quality has improved immensely. Today’s recycled paper is available in all colors, including the brightest whites, and meets the highest technical standards, sometimes even exceeding comparable virgin papers. Commercial printers and copier machine manufacturers today agree that recycled paper is suitable for all their machines. They only require good quality paper, whether recycled or virgin.

    According to an interview in the Epoch times, Bernd Krause of the Federal Envirnmental Office, there’s no question recycled paper is of high quality.

    “Quality recycled paper is very similar to that of virgin paper,” Krause replied, “and certain criteria must be met before we approve of the eco-label, including that standards be met for the intended end-use of the product. The product produced from recycled fibers must be of at least the same quality as the product produced from virgin fibers.”

    A ringing endorsement like that can only encourage more printers to use recycled paper and also to encourage more people to recycle their waste paper.

    Photo: Jetalone

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    Comments

    • Anonymous

      We may not reuse or recycle at home, but we can segregate our trash and give the recyclables to facilities or programs that can turn them into something usable once again. Paper and other paper products can be shredded to serve other purposes.

      http://www.texas-shredding.com

      Paper and plastic products are the common items that can be recycled and all we have to do is segregate our garbage properly so that they will be given to recycling facilities.

    • Anonymous

      We can show our concern with paper and all other things derived from our natural resources so that while we are going for more technology-reliant work methods, we can still recycle old office documents, hard drives and other office supplies.
      In addition, I also read a piece on plastic and paper products:
      http://www.ecojoes.com/styrofoam-cups-vs-paper-cups/#idc-cover
      All our used items including paper documents, mail, billings and even old plastic items need to be sorted out when we have time to clean up so that we can avoid the clutter.
      Most of us deal with clutter problems especially if we have such busy lifestyles. With everything that’s going on at work and at home, it is pretty difficult to catch up with the cleaning and organizing.

    • Anonymous

      We can show our concern with paper and all other things derived from our natural resources so that while we are going for more technology-reliant work methods, we can still recycle old office documents, hard drives and other office supplies.
      In addition, I also read a piece on plastic and paper products:
      http://www.ecojoes.com/styrofoam-cups-vs-paper-cups/#idc-cover
      All our used items including paper documents, mail, billings and even old plastic items need to be sorted out when we have time to clean up so that we can avoid the clutter.
      Most of us deal with clutter problems especially if we have such busy lifestyles. With everything that’s going on at work and at home, it is pretty difficult to catch up with the cleaning and organizing.