Not all collected waste paper is suitable for recycling. Before you buy waste paper in bulk, you have to make sure that it can be used for recycling. So here are the few things you need to know before buying waste paper in bulk:
1. Waste paper suppliers collect the paper materials from collection points such as trash bins, commercial outlets that generate paper waste, paper scrap yards, and paper stores. And waste paper used as feedstock for making recycled paper is divided into three categories: mill broke, pre-consumer waste, and post-consumer waste. Mill broke is paper scrap obtained from manufacturers of paper. It is recycled in a paper mill. Pre-consumer waste is paper waste which left the paper mill but was discarded before it was ready for consumer use, and post-consumer waste is material discarded after a consumer has used it, such as newspapers, old corrugated containers, and news magazines.
2. Not all waste paper collected is of equal quality. For example, a newspaper is a lower grade paper because it has already been recycled many times, while printer paper is a higher grade paper because it still can be recycled many times. Grades of paper are determined by fiber length, which gets shortened after every recycling process, and after getting recycled for five to seven times, it becomes too short for recycling. So before buying waste paper, find out how many times it has been recycled already.
3. According to the EPA, there are five basic paper grade categories: old corrugated containers, mixed paper, old newspaper, high grade deinked paper, and pulp substitutes.
Here are some popular waste paper grades:
Old Corrugated Containers
OCC waste paper or old corrugated cartons supplied by OCC waste paper suppliers consists of corrugated containers having liners of either test liner or kraft. You might know this as corrugated cardboard. It is found in boxes and product packaging.
Mixed Paper
The mixed waste paper (MWP) includes a broad category of things like mail, catalogs, phone books, magazine, and a mixture of various grades of paper and board without restriction on short fiber content.
Old Newspapers
It consists of sorted or used or old newspapers (ONP) and other acceptable papers as typically generated by voluntary collection and curbside collection programs. It is used to make more newsprint, tissue, and other paper products.
Over Issued Newspapers
Over Issue Newspaper (OINP) consists of unused, overrun newspapers printed on newsprint, containing not more than the normal percentage of rotogravure and colored sections.
High-Grade Deinked Paper
It is a higher grade paper consists of things like envelopes, copy paper, and letterhead that has gone through the printing process and had the ink removed.
Pulp Substitutes
It contains discarded scraps from mills. One should check the quality of the waste paper to determine whether the type of waste paper is accepted or rejected for recycling.
So these are the three key things you should know about buying waste paper in bulk.
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