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separating
paper
at the waste source
for recycling
Recyclable materials can be recovered from
the solid waste stream through a variety of tech-
niques. Seme involve new and complex technol-
ogy, but others depend mainly on the persona!
separating out of recyclable materials by house-
holders and other waste generators. The latter
methods are by far the predominate ones for
recovery of paper.
This setting aside of recyclable waste materials
at their point of generation by the generator has
been termed "source separation." Separation is
followed by the transporting of the materials to a
secondary materials dealer or directly to a manu-
facturer by the generator himself, by city collec-
tion vehicles, by private haulers and scrap dealers,
or by voluntary recycling organizations.
Newspapers from homes, corrugated contain-
ers from commercial and industrial establishments,
and mixed and high-grade papers from offices are
the grades of paper which are readily recoverable
through source separation; they are also the grades
of used paper which are most desirable for
recycling. These categories of paper constitute
approximately 50 percent of the paper which is
discarded from residential, commercial, and in-
dustrial establishments.
The various techniques for source separation
of paper, as well as the related environmental,
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energy, and conservation issues, are summarized in
this report.
SOURCE SEPARATION OF NEWSPRINT
Background
Historically, newsprint has flowed back into
the manufacturing cycle primarily through two
channels. One is collection of newspaper from
homes through paper drives conducted by civic
and religious organizations and through the efforts
of private waste haulers. The second is diversion of
"over-issue news"-newspapers printed but never
sold-into recycling channels. Also, in recent years
many householders have brought their newspapers
to neighborhood recycling centers.
While these channels are still active and
important, in the last 2 to 3 years a new method
of source separation has appeared that holds great
promise for providing additional quantities of old
newspapers for recycling, and doing so on a
continuous basis. The technique, separate news-
paper collection, is growing rapidly insignificance.
Separate Newspaper Collection
Separate newspaper collection is the curbside
collection of used newspapers on a regular basis by
municipal or private waste collectors. Newspapers
are kept separate from other waste in the house-
hold, bundled and tied, placed at the curb, and
collected regularly just like other solid wastes.
Two methods are presently used to collect the
newspaper: (1) trucks are dispatched which pick
up only newspaper. These are usually regular
compaction trucks, but open-bodied trucks can
also be used; (2) racks to hold the newspaper are
installed beneath the bodies of standard collection
trucks. The newspaper and other refuse is col-
lected simultaneously. This is the so-called "piggy-
back" method of separate collection. In 1970 only
three separate collection programs were in opera-
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tion in the entire United States; by April 1974, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had identi-
fied 125 communities with separate newspaper
collection programs.
Requirements for Separate Newspaper Collection
Planning. Implementation of a successful sepa-
rate newspaper collection system requires rela-
tively little expenditure of capital, but proper
planning, coordination, and administration are
essential. The plans should include the following
key elements: (1) markets must be available within
a reasonable distance; they should be investigated
in advance and assured by contract; (2) whether
the program is mandatory or voluntary, citizen
cooperation must be thoroughly solicited by mak-
ing sure that citizens know of the program's
existence and purpose and the exact nature of
their requested participation; this requires an
active publicity campaign usually involving both
media {TV, radio, newspapers) and citizen groups
(scouts, ecology groups, religious and service
organizations); (3) the changes in the existing
collection procedures which will be required must
be property planned and carried out, including
provisions for handling the newspaper after it is
collected; (4) a special ordinance may have to be
drafted to prevent any party other than the
municipal collection crew (or contracted private
hauler) from picking up the old newspapers.
Capital and Labor. Theoretically both capital
outlays and increased labor are necessitated by the
division of the waste stream into two components.
For a piggyback system, metal racks must be
purchased at a cost of about $80 to $250 per
vehicle, and more time-on the order of 14
seconds per stop-will be required in collection.
(In some places the rack fills up before the route is
completed. Limited case study data show that
approximately 10 minutes of unloading and off-
route time is required each time the rack becomes
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full. The newspaper Is stored temporarily in bulk
containers that have been placed along or near the
collection route.)
Equipment requirements for a separate truck
system will vary widely depending on frequency of
both regular and newspaper collection, number of
households participating, type of truck used, and
other factors. It is therefore almost impossible to
generalize about truck requirements. In case
studies the ratio of regular to newspaper collection
trucks has ranged from 6:1 for once-per-week
newspaper collection to 29:1 for once-per-month
collection.1 However, both higher and lower ratios
have been observed elsewhere.
In the cities now using separate collection,
few additional trucks have been purchased and
very few new employees hired, though the length
of time spent on the route has generally increased.
In other words, most cities practicing separate
collection have found underutilized equipment
and labor which could be utilized in the collection
of newspapers, thus in essence increasing the
productivity of existing labor and equipment. This
might not be possible in every instance, of course;
it depends on the amount of "slack" in a
collection system and the specific labor situation.
Costs and Savings
The equipment and labor costs of separate
collection must be balanced against the proceeds
from the sale of the newspaper and the savings in
disposal costs.
Generalizations about costs or savings are
difficult because of the variance from city to city
in the market price for old newspapers, disposal
cost, type of collection used before and after
initiation of separate collection, and other factors.
Each community must estimate the economics
under the conditions which exist in that com-
munity.
By the end of 1973 mills in many parts of the
country were paying $5Q-$60 per ton for baled
4
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newspaper.2 Discussions with municipal officials
indicate that most municipalities were receiving
$20-$40 per ton from wastepaper dealers for loose
newspaper. At these prices many communities will
find separate collection profitable or at least a
break-even proposition. Case studies have been
done of the effect of separate collection (using
separate trucks) and sale of newspaper on the
collection costs in 10 communities.1 Assuming a
$25-per-ton market price, the effect would range
from a decrease of 13 percent to an increase of 14
percent in collection costs; on the average, there
would be a decrease of just over 1 percent. In
March 1974, when the average price received by
the 10 communities was $32 per ton, there was an
average decrease in collection system costs of 5
percent. Three piggyback systems studied were
found to result in similar overall cost reductions.
{These are net savings after accounting for all
additional costs actually experienced and all
revenues and disposal savings.) Though continued
market prices at these levels cannot be guaranteed,
many communities have been able to secure 1- to
5-year contracts with guaranteed floor prices
which they found acceptable.
The participation rate-the percentage of
households setting out their newspapers separated
as requested-has an important bearing on system
economics. It is of prime importance that as many
householders cooperate as possible. Participation
rates rise over time with a good publicity cam-
paign. There are indications that participation
rates in an ongoing program will rise above 50
percent on a purely voluntary participation basis.
This is probably in part due to the desire of many
citizens to contribute to environmental improve-
ment, combined with the fact that demands placed
on the resident are minimal. An EPA study shows
that only about 2.3 minutes per week of the
householder's time is needed for extra handling of
the newspapers.1
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Opportunity for Increased Recovery
Supply. In 1973, according to preliminary
estimates, there were approximately 2.5 million
tons of newspapers recycled in the United States3
and an additional 100 to 150 thousand tons of old
newspapers exported.4 In relation to domestic
consumption of newsprint this constitutes about a
25 percent recycling rate. Newspapers account for
about 20 percent, by weight, of all paper discards
in the nation.5
About 4.6 million tons of newspaper were
discarded by households in the nation's urban
areas in 1973 and not recovered; this amount
represents the primary potential for additional
newspaper recovery.5 If at least half of this
quantity had been recovered, then newspaper
recovery in 1973 would have been doubled.
Demand. Obviously, if these newspapers are
to be recycled, there must be a demand for them
in the paper industry. In 1973, for the first time in
years, combined domestic and foreign demand for
old newspapers appeared to exceed the supply of
recovered paper.
The latest capacity survey of the American
Paper institute indicates plans for a 7 percent
increase in domestic old newspaper consumption
from the beginning of 1974 through 1975-a
steady but not dramatic growth.3 Foreign de-
mand, which surged in 1973, is expected to
continue to increase. There is also strong interest
by several companies in adding to the present U.S.
capacity for manufacture of newsprint solely from
old newspapers. The question of supply avail-
ability seems to be the major deterrent to these
companies at present.
How these factors will ultimately balance out
is difficult to predict. Based only on the demand
increases presently projected by the American
Paper Institute, it would seem that the prices
received by municipalities for old newspaper
will probably retreat somewhat from the record-
6
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high 1973 levels. However, there are no indications
of a return to the demand and price levels of 2
years ago, which were generally considered to be
depressed. Furthermore, buyers are increasingly
willing to guarantee floor prices to ensure supply,
While nationally the signs are positive, the
individual community must consider markets or a
local basis, and markets may not be available if
there are no consuming mills in places to which
the freight costs would be within acceptable limits
Thus, an exploration of local markets is still tha
first requirement for communities considering
separate newspaper collection. Some communities
have found that consuming mills In their area are
interested in other paper wastes from households
besides old newspaper and have thus collected and
sold mixed household paper as well as newspaper.
SOURCE SEPARATION
OF CORRUGATED PAPER
Background
In contrast to newspapers, which are dis-
carded primarily from residences, used corrugated
containers are discarded primarily from commer-
ciai arid industrial sources. Recovery from these
sources has been practiced for many years and has
been carried out primarily by wastepaper dealers
rather than through volunteer channels. Some
supermarkets and other commercial and industrial
generators have separated and baled their corru-
gated containers, but waste haulers have also
obtained large quantities in the past through hand
separation of corrugated paper from other waste at
disposal sites or processing stations.
Rapidly increasing labor costs have made
hand-sorting by haulers less feasible, but separa-
tion by the generator has increased in importance.
Now most of the country's major supermarket
chains separate corrugated paper from other waste
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for recycling, as do many auto assembly plants and
other commercial and industrial establishments.
The continuance and growth of this practice is
vital if the future needs for old corrugated paper
are to be met.
Methods of Separation and Collection
There are two major methods of source
separation of corrugated paper. The first is baling
by the generator. There are a number of tech-
niques for baling corrugated paper; they differ in
the size of bales produced, method of storage, and
method of collection. Large bales are suitable for
direct consumption by a paper mill; small bales,
generally under 500 to 700 pounds, have to be
rebaled by a hauler or wastepaper dealer prior to
mill consumption.
In the second method of source separation
loose corrugated paper is placed in stationary
compactors-large metal containers attached to a
stationary hydraulic ram. The hauler or waste-
paper dealer must at a minimum empty the
container and bale the corrugated paper. If the
generator has mixed other waste with the corru-
gated paper, then hand-sorting must also be done.
In the latter case the generator has in fact done
little or no source separation.
The method which is most attractive to a
particular generator depends on the quantity of
paper generated, the space available to the gen-
erator for handling the paper, and other factors. In
a recent study of supermarket waste management
practices sponsored by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, baling was found to be the most
attractive method among supermarkets for han-
dling corrugated paper.6 Many large warehouses
and large industrial generators have also found
baling to be the most attractive approach. How-
ever, some other generators, such as large depart-
ment stores, have tended to lean toward use of
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stationary compactors, leaving the baling and
perhaps the separation to the hauler.
Baling results in a higher price for the paper
but generally requires more personnel time and a
larger investment, while use of separate containers
requires little change in normal waste discard
procedures but results in less revenue for the
paper.
Costs and Savings
Though systems involving baling vary, many
generators received enough revenue from baled
corrugated paper in 1973 to pay the full capital
cost of a baler within a year. The demand for old
corrugated paper has been so great over the past
year that prices at the mill rose to over $60 per
ton in most parts of the country.2 Such prices
turn a generator's waste into a valuable com-
modity. As one store manager was reported to
have said, "Sometimes I think there is more profit
potential in the box than in its contents." A
generator should not assume that such prices will
always hold, however.
In addition, in the past year many generators
were offered balers free of financing and dollar
outlay, "with payment for the baler taken in the
form of the corrugated paper generated. Guaran-
teed minimum floor prices and 1- to 5-year
purchase contracts were frequently offered as well.
Under such conditions baling of corrugated paper
can be a waste management technique of consid-
erable appeal to the commercial generator.
Some generators tend to think of separation
of corrugated paper for recycling more as a waste
management alternative to on-site incineration or
regular waste hauling than as a profit-or-loss issue.
The study of supermarket waste management
found that baling was the lowest cost method of
waste management for corrugated paper, even
though prices for the paper at that time (1972)
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were at only about half the levels prevailing at the
end of 1973.
Opportunities for Increasing Recovery
Supply. Preliminary estimates for 1973 show
recovery of old corrugated paper totaled roughly
5.2 million tons.3 Approximately 35 percent of
this came from industrial converting operations
where corrugated boxes are fabricated; the remain-
der consisted of consumer discards.7- p-55-56 The
latter amount represents about 23 percent of the
corrugated paper that is used. Corrugated contain-
ers constitute about 26 percent, by weight, of all
paper discards.5
Waste corrugated paper not recovered from
commercial and industrial establishments in the
nation's urban areas represents the primary poten-
tial for additional recovery. Assuming that 80
percent of commercial and industrial activity is
concentrated in Standard Metropolitan Statistical
Areas, unrecovered corrugated paper in these areas
would have amounted to approximately 7.5
million tons in 1973.5 Recovery of half of this
material, or 3.75 million tons, would double
the amount of used corrugated paper currently
recovered.
Demand. Demand for old corrugated paper
rose significantly in 1973 as production of corru-
gating medium (the fluting material in corrugated
boxes) from old corrugated increased by 16.6
percent over the 1972 level; this was almost
double the percentage increase in total corrugating
medium production.8 The most recent capacity
survey of the American Paper Institute shows that
the largest capacity gain among all paper and
board industry segments will occur in recycled
paperboard and primarily in grades made from old
corrugated containers. Consumption of old corru-
gated paper in the 1972 to 1975 period is
projected to grow by 34 percent.3 Thus, there
10
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should be strong demand for this material over at
least the next 2 years. Relatively high prices
should continue, although, as new supply sources
are developed, the record-high prices which existed
in 1973 may moderate.
SOURCE SEPARATION
OF OFFICE WASTEPAPER
Background
"Office wastepaper" here includes not only
printing and writing papers but also the discards of
out-of-date forms and reports and the growing
quantities of computer tab cards and printout
paper. Presently there is relatively little actual
source separation of this waste with the exception
of computer tab cards, for which the reported
prices are over $200 per ton. Most of the
separation occurs at processing plants of waste-
paper dealers or waste haulers. Depending on the
composition of the waste and degree of separation
practiced, it is sold either as "mixed," i.e.,
low grade, or as "high grades" of wastepaper. The
extent to which such hand separation by the
dealer is feasible depends primarily on the market
price of these wastepaper grades.
Methods of Source Separation
Source separation of office paper consists
primarily of keeping certain discarded papers
separate from other trash such as plastic beverage
cups, soft drink cans, and the like. (In addition,
tab cards would generally be kept separate from
other paper waste in the computer center.) The
basic technique for doing this is to provide
separate containers for discards of paper and other
trash. There has been little experience with this
technique so far; there are only a handful of
offices in the country where such separation is
known to be practiced.
11
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However, there appears to be growing interest
in the technique, and at least one company who
markets business forms has developed a program
for separating and collecting office papers.9 Their
technique {and a similar one reported to be
successful 10) involves small desk-top containers
for white ledger and bond discarded during the
day; these are emptied into larger containers at the
end of the day. Such separation, if it is practical,
would probably allow office waste recovery under
less favorable market conditions than would costly
hand sorting at a processing plant.
Markets for high grades such as tab cards and
clean ledger or bond were very strong in 1973 and
supplies of such waste were short. The demand for
"high grades and pulp substitutes," as evidenced in
industry plans reported to the American Paper
Institute, shows only about a 5-percent increase in
the 2-year period from the beginning of 1974
through 1975.3 However, many industry observers
believe that more such paper could and would be
used if it were obtainable.
BENEFITS OF PAPER RECYCLING
Paper recycling results in three major benefits
which argue for its continuance and expansion-
environmental benefits, reduced solid waste vol-
umes, and conservation of resources.
Environmental benefits accrue from the gener-
ally lower levels of emissions into the environment
that stem from the manufacturing of products
from recycled paper rather than virgin woodpulp.
A recent study sponsored by EPA examined the
total systems, from forest or waste collection to
final product, for four major paper industry
products. Preliminary data on uncontrolled emis-
sions shows that there are generally lower air and
solids emissions and, in some cases, lower water
12
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emissions with use of secondary as opposed to
virgin fiber.11
The volume of solid waste which must be
disposed of by municipalities is reduced when
paper is recycled. Paper constitutes 31 percent of
residential and commercial waste by weight and
well over half by volume.5 Therefore, recovery of
even small percentages of paper can to some
degree extend the life of landfills, reduce the loads
that must be handled by incinerators, and avert
the environmental damages which often result
from improper disposal.
Trees are a renewable resource, but there is
currently debate over whether our forests can
meet the needs of our nation for lumber and
lumber products in the future, whether cutting
increasing quantities of timber from national
forests is justified, whether using increasing quan-
tities of land, some presently used as wildlife
refuges, for commercial timber operations is desir-
able, and whether forestry practices such as
clearcutting damage the land. All of these ques-
tions have arisen because of pressure on the
nations' forests to supply growing amounts of
paper and wood products. Paper recycling can help
relieve the pressure on forests, help relieve doubts
about adequacy of future timber supplies, and
reduce the need to expand timber harvesting in
ways which may be detrimental to wildlife or the
land.
ENERGY RECOVERY
VERSUS PAPER RECOVERY
Generation of energy through combustion of
municipal solid waste is also an important resource
conservation and waste management technique.
However, source separation for removal of paper
from waste should be practiced even when energy
13
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recovery is employed because (1) it will increase
the environmental and conservation benefits which
can be achieved and (2) the market value of
wastepaper is several times higher as a fiber than as
a fuel.
Removal of recoverable paper through source
separation does not significantly compromise the
value of municipal waste as an energy source. The
major reasons are: (1) paper constitutes only
about 39 percent, by weight, of the combustible
fraction of municipal waste and (2) even with
optimum source separation systems for newspaper,
corrugated paper, and office papers, only 25 to 35
percent of the paper in the waste stream could be
recovered, and this would constitute only 10-14
percent of the combustible fraction. Even with a
35 percent recovery rate, the reduction in haat
content per ton of waste input into an energy
recovery plant has been calculated by EPA to be
no greater than 10 percent.5
tt obviously makes sense to recover the paper
as a fiber if possible. In later cycles through the
production system this wastepaper may well ap-
pear in packaging and other types of paper
products not readily recoverable and could then be
converted into energy. Recycling of paper back
into new paper thus increases the useful time of
the fiber.
CONCLUSIONS
Source separation is presently the most feasi-
ble means of removing paper from the waste
stream for recycling. Newspaper, corrugated con-
tainers, and certain types of papers from offices
typically accumulate in relatively high concentra-
tion and homogeneous form at the points of
generation. Their separation from other waste will
usually be of only slight inconvenience to the
14
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generator and may result in savings to them in
waste disposal costs.
The most significant new opportunities for
source separation lie in municipal programs for
source separation and separate collection of old
newspapers from residences, in separation of cor-
rugated containers by commercial and industrial
establishments, and in separation of high-grade
paper in offices. According to EPA's best esti-
mates, it would be practically feasible to recover
enough additional newspaper and corrugated paper
to double the amount currently being recovered.
Although communities must consider markets on a
ocal basis, nationally the demand for these materi-
als is growing.
For manufacture of many paper products, use
of recycled paper rather than virgin fiber results in
reduced emissions into the environment. Other
benefits include the reduction in the volume of
solid waste that municipalities must dispose of and
the conservation of forest resources.
Newspapers, corrugated containers, and office
papers should be recycled as a fiber if possible
rather than converted to energy. There will still be
ample heat-producing potential in the remaining
waste to allow its recovery as energy.
REFERENCES
1. SCS Engineers. Cost analysis of source separate
collection of solid waste. (In preparation.)
2. Paperboard Packaging, Official Board Markets, Jan.
1974 issues.
3. American Paper Institute. Capacity 1972-1975 with
additional data for 1976-1978; paper, paperboard,
woodpulp fiber consumption. New York, 1973.
25 p.
4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Unpublished
estimates based on Garden State Paper Company
data.
5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Unpublished
data.
1S
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6. SCS Engineers. Solid waste management in retail
food stores. (In preparation.)
7. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Unpublished
data based on Franklin, W. E., Paper recycling; the
art of the possible, American Paper Institute, 1973.
181 p.
8. American Paper Institute. Monthly Statistical
Summary, Jan. 1974.
9. The Shade Corporation, Alexandria, Virginia.
10. The Western Electric Company, Sunnyvale, Cali-
fornia.
11. Gordian Associates. Environmental impact of
production from virgin and secondary paper, glass,
and rubber. (In preparation.)
jua1002
16
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
1974
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