In 2003 44.7% of the paper in Brazil was returned to production through recycling. This amounted to three million tonnes.

Most of the paper used in recycling, around 86%, is produced by commercial and industrial activities.

In Brazil there are 22 categories of paper scrap – the generic name given to either domestic or industrial scrap paper – classified by the São Paulo Institute for Technological Research and by the National Association of Paper and Pulp Manufacturers. The most valuable scrap is "1st class white", which has no print or any kind of coating. Mixed scrap is composed of a mixture of various kinds of paper. In Brazil, industries consume 2.8 million tonnes of recycled paper.

The amount of paper recycling in Brazil varies greatly from region to region. In the South and Southeast regions, where most of the country’s industry is concentrated, rates of recycling are high, at 64% and 44% respectively; and in other regions, 16%.

Office paper is the generic name given to a variety of products used in offices, including writing paper, notepads, copying paper, printer paper, magazines and leaflets. Quality is measured according to the characteristics of the fibers. Writing and copying paper are usually white, although they can be of various colors. Most office paper is manufactured using chemical processes that treat the cellulose pulp stripped off trees. However, newsprint is made with less cellulose and more wood fibers, obtained in the first stage of paper manufacture, and for this reason of lower quality.

Paper consumption in Brazil is around 7 million tonnes per year.

In São Paulo, paper and cardboard accounted for 11% of the weight of urban refuse in 2003. In the United States, office paper accounted for 3.3% of refuse.

The various categories of paper

Garbage derived from office paper is composed of different types of paper, forcing the recycling programs to concentrate on collecting certain more valuable categories, such as white computer paper. Although less valuable, mixed papers containing different colors and fibers, are also collected for recycling. Paper towels and toilet paper cannot be used in recycling, as neither can vegetable, wax, carbon, plastic-coated or metallic paper.

Strict Specifications for Raw Material

The product with the greatest market value is that following strict specifications in raw material. These exclude or limit the presence of wood fiber of colored paper. They cannot contain metal, glass, string, stones, sand, paper clips, elastic bands and other material that may impede the recycling process. However, the technology for cleaning paper for recycling is minimizing the impact of these impurities. Paper should also not be too moist.

Pollution

The burning of tires to heat boilers is regulated by legislation stipulating that the smoke produced must fall within standard 1 of the Reingelmann scale for all kinds of smoke. The principal users of tires in boilers are the pulp and paper industry and manufacturers of lime and cement, which use the whole tire and also some of the oxides contained in the metal of radial tires. Burning in the open air, which produces a black smoke with a strong odor (sulfur dioxide) is prohibited in various countries, including Brazil.

Reduction at source

Reducing the amount of waste generated is difficult. Paper for printers could theoretically be made more lightweight. Ideas for reducing the generation of waste paper include using both sides, as well as reducing the size of the sheets. The automation of offices and reduced bureaucracy should also reduce the amount of paper needed.

Composting

Paper is relatively easy to decompose, if it is shredded in the right way, and, mixed with other residue, it becomes a source of nitrogen for microorganisms.

Incineration

It is easily combustible, generating 7,200 BTUs per kilo, compared to the 4,500 BTUs obtained per kilo of urban waste as a whole. Confidential papers, withdrawn bank notes and out-of-date files are still burned, but could be shredded for recycling or compost.

Landfills

Paper degrades slowly in landfills when there is not sufficient contact with air and water. In the United States, newspapers from the fifties were found in landfills, still in legible conditio.

Back to the origins

Paper is separated from refuse and sold to scrap dealers who send the material to deposits. There, the paper is baled in presses and afterwards sent to shredders, who classify the scrap and resell it to paper manufactures as raw material. Upon arrival at the factory, the paper goes into a kind of giant blender, called a "Hydropulper", which is in the form of a cylindrical tank with a spinning rotor blade at the bottom. The equipment shreds the paper, mixing it with water to make a cellulose paste. A sieve below the rotor weeds out impurities, such as fibers, non-shredded pieces of paper, wire and plastic. Chemical composites are then applied – water and caustic soda – to extract the paint. A finer purification is made by "center-cleaners", which separate the sand found in the paste. Refining discs further open up the cellulose fibers, improving the links between them. Finally, the paste is bleached with chlorine or peroxide, and then it’s ready for the paper manufacturing machines.