Recycling use of waste paper

1. Waste paper has a wide range of recycling applications

With the economic and social development, the use of paper has risen rapidly and a large amount of waste paper has been produced. As the world’s second largest consumer of paper and paperboard, China’s paper consumption was 44.06 million tons in 2003, and waste paper recycling was conservatively estimated at 14 million tons.

The raw materials of paper are mainly plant fibers such as wood, grass, reeds, and bamboo. Waste paper is also called "secondary fiber," and the most important use is in the production of recycled paper products for fiber recycling. According to the different fiber composition, the corresponding recycling according to paper species can maximize the value of waste paper resources.

In addition to the production of recycled paper, waste paper of low quality or mixed with other materials has other extensive uses for recycling: Furniture production: Singapore and other places, used old newspapers, old books and other waste paper rolled round slender stick, wrapped A layer of plastic paper makes practical and beautiful furniture.

Molded products: paper mold packaging products can be widely used in the product's internal packaging, can replace foam plastic.

Daily Necessities or special products for processing: waste papers that are difficult to handle can be formed by crushing, grinding, adding binders and various fillers, and producing soap boxes, shoe boxes, sound-insulating cardboard, and device paper.

Production of civil construction materials: The main production is thermal insulation materials or composite materials, plaster materials, etc.

Horticulture, agriculture and animal husbandry production: waste paper made into small flower pots after beating; agricultural and animal husbandry production can improve soil quality, and can be processed into cattle and sheep feed (United States, United Kingdom, Australia).

Used as fuel: Finland, Germany, and Japan have done a good job in this area.

Extraction of waste paper rejuvenation enzymes: After the regenerated enzyme is extracted, it can be used for deinking waste paper to produce white recycled paper.

Glucose production: Old newspapers are treated with acid, which dissolves and disintegrates to produce glucose.

Use in the chemical industry: production of CMC, filter aids, and the production of industrial rags in combination with synthetic fibers.

2. Waste paper has become the most important raw material for papermaking

Traditional papermaking using log-making pulp consumes a lot of wood, destroys ecology, and causes serious pollution. Therefore, "Urban Papermaking" using waste paper has become the two major development trends of modern papermaking industry together with the integration of afforestation and papermaking. Urban papermaking also plays a role in eliminating urban garbage and embodies the spirit of “urban production, urban consumption”. Some developed cities have supporting urban waste paper recycling bases.

The composition of waste paper in papermaking raw materials is increasing. Experts predict that the proportion of waste paper in papermaking raw materials in this century will be as high as 60% to 70%. In 2003, waste paper has become China's most important papermaking raw material (49%).

3. Low level of industrialization of waste paper recycling in China

Although China's waste paper utilization rate (usage/output) is as high as 49%, the waste paper recovery rate (recovery volume/consumption) is less than 30%. The import dependence of waste paper raw materials for papermaking in China has been rising year by year, up to 40% in 2003. The recovery rate of domestic waste paper has not improved, and the recovered waste paper has also been processed into low-grade products such as paperboard and toilet paper by small, technologically backward enterprises. It has not played the resource value of waste paper, and has caused serious secondary pollution.

The low level of industrialization lies in the lack of support policies for the waste paper recycling industry, but the poor industrial base is also an important constraint factor. An important bottleneck in the recycling and utilization of domestic waste paper at present is that waste paper raw materials cannot meet the requirements of paper-making companies in terms of quality and scale. In China, waste paper is simply divided into a limited number of books, magazines, newspapers, paperboard, paper bags, and white paper borders. It lacks uniform standards, and it is shipped in bulk form from the waste collection and distribution market. The internationally standardized packaged waste paper has become a bulk commodity. There are as many as 50 types of waste paper in the United States. In addition, China's papermaking materials such as straw pulp and wood pulp are mixed, and the raw material fiber composition of waste paper is also difficult to compare with foreign wood pulp waste paper.

In the absence of industry standards and unified supervision, China's waste paper recycling system is scattered and it is difficult for large-scale waste paper suppliers to emerge. The combination of domestic waste paper and small-batch transport can hardly meet the needs of large-scale production of papermaking companies. In order to pursue stable supply channels and raw material quality, it is inevitable that large and medium-sized paper companies use imported waste paper as raw materials.

4. Good prospects for the development of waste paper recycling in China

In the situation where the shortage of raw materials for paper and environmental protection requirements have been increasingly strengthened, China's waste paper recycling industry has shown a good development trend and its industrial prospects are bright.

Due to the strong demand brought by economic development, China's paper industry has developed rapidly. According to experts' predictions, China's paper demand will grow exponentially by 2020, reaching nearly 100 million tons. At present, there has been a full-scale tension in papermaking materials, and the price of international waste paper has been rising all the way. As the scarcity of wood is difficult to solve in the short term, the shortage of waste paper raw materials will continue to exist for a long time. Under this situation, the value of domestic waste paper resources has risen. Once the supporting policies, industry standards, and technical issues are resolved, the domestic waste paper recycling and utilization industry will certainly become a new investment hot spot.

No matter whether it is the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" for paper making by the State Light Industry Bureau or the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" of the National Development and Reform Commission, it has made use of waste paper as its development focus. With the gradual understanding of the social significance of waste paper recycling, all parties will speed up the introduction of relevant policies and the formation of a social atmosphere. At present, a group of companies that have devoted themselves to the recycling of domestic waste paper have also emerged.