Did you know, thanks to recycling, your used paper doesn’t just disappear? It’s made into a slew of new items! ’Tis true. Take it from me, resident paper expert and bagpipe enthusiast Paper MacKay.
I’ve spent years getting my paws on all types of recyclable paper and have even toured a facility or two to get a behind-the-scenes look at the process. And trust me when I tell you, the journey your recycled paper goes on is truly magical.
First
It starts when your newspapers, magazines and envelopes (aye, even the ones with plastic windows on ’em) first enter your curbside recycling cart. Come pickup day, these items will be ferried off to a local recycling facility. As long as no other items in your bin have contaminated your paper (think food waste from unwashed glass or cheese residue in a pizza box), facility workers will sort and send that paper on to the next step.
Next
Once sorted and given the green light, your paper gets fed to a shredder! It’s torn asunder and made into a papery pulp.
This pulpy masterpiece is then washed to break down its fibers. Fun fact: One of the reasons paper recycling is so successful is because of these fibers! Unlike other materials that can be repurposed only two or three times, paper can be repurposed five to seven times before its fibers are too short and weak to be used again. Talk about high-fiber content!
Last
Once that pulp has taken a nice bath to break down the fibers, the big dogs (large rollers) come out. These are used to flatten the pulp and help it dry out into — you guessed it — new paper! This flattened and dried product is used as the base for a variety of new paper products, including:
- Cereal boxes
- Paper towels
- Fast-food bags
- Egg cartons
- & more!
And that’s all she wrote when it comes to the life cycle of paper recycling! While the journey is as fascinating as it is pleasant, the environmental benefits of paper recycling cannot be understated either. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recycling just 1 ton of paper can save 380 gallons of oil, 7,000 gallons of water and enough energy to power the average American home for up to six months!
So, the next time you’re putting an envelope in your recycling bin or wheeling your cart to the curb, give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.