RECYCLED PAPER IS MUCH BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

This process of making paper basically has two stages: in the first part, a paper pulp (a paste of cellulose) is obtained, and then this pulp is pressed and transformed into paper.

The first part of this process, turning the raw material into paper pulp, has the bigger impact of the two. As can be seen in the following table, this impact is much lower in the case of recycled pulp, even when compared to virgin paper production using the Best Available Technologies. To make recycled pulp, recovered paper is bathed in water to soften the fibers, and then impurities like staples and plastics are mechanically removed. Then, unless it is going to be used for cardboard or for other packing papers, it is deinked by chemical means. Now, if bleaching is used, the pulp is bleached. To make chemical pulp (what most virgin paper is made from) wood is chipped and the chips are cooked in a digester together with a chemical liquor, at high temperatures, to break down the lignin binding the cellulose fibers together. That is why chemical pulp requires more energy and technical skill. In both cases, a significant amount of energy is used to press and use steam-heated rollers to dry the pulp. 

However, the environmental impact of this part of the process is minor compared to that of making pulp, and is similar for both recycled and virgin papers.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF CRUDE PULP AND RECYCLED PULP

	Air pollution	Water pollution	Solid wastes	Energy consumption	Water consumption
Chemical pulp (to make virgin paper)	Sulpher dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulates. Sulpher dioxide is the main culprit of acid rain, because in the atmosphere it reacts to become sulphuric acid. CO2	Organic materials in wastewater: cause oxygen starvation downstream. Suspended solids: degrade water quality. Nitrogen and phosphorus: create an excess of nutrients in aquatic ecosystems	Woody wastes are generated, which can be used as fuel within the factory itself to generate energy	From 14 to 20 GJ per ton	From 30 to 50 m3 per ton
Recycled pulp	CO2. There isn't comparative data, but the process consumes much less energy, so it will should give off fewer greenhouse gases.	Organic matter: 4 and 7 times less than chemical pulp. Solids in suspension: 6 times less. Nitrogen and phosphorus: half	Impurities recovered from paper (staples, plastic), can't be reused	From 4 to 6'5 GJ per ton (2 to 5 times less)	From 8 to 15 m3 per ton (2 to 6 times less)

Sources: European Commission: Integrated pollution prevention and control. Reference document on Best Available Techniques in the pulp and papel industry, December 2001; Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg: Ecological comparison of office papers in view of the fibrous raw materials, August 2006.

Data was compared, assuming the use of Best Available Techniques for both types of pulp. In both cases, it is assumed that the pulp is to be bleached. In the case of recycled pulp, deinking is also taken into account. In the column of energy consumption, the amount used to get paper from pulp is also included. (In this stage, the other parameters are also very similar for virgin paper and recycled paper). Dioxins, etc. are not included in the table, since their release depends on the bleaching method, for either type of pulp.