The lifecycle of recycled paper can be repeated 4 to 5 times before the cellulose fibres that form a sheet of paper become too short for paper-making. The lifecycle highlights recycled paper as the greenest option for printed communications. The process makes environmental savings such as:

• Using less energy
• Using less water
• Producing lower carbon emissions
• Reduces the amount of waste to landfill or incineration
• No wood required for the immediate production of recycled papers

In addition, recycling creates up to ten times more jobs in comparison to sending waste to landfill.

Collection of waste paper

Once paper has been used for its final use, it is collected and sorted at a waste sorting facility. The output from waste sorting facilities is classified and then sold to our mills as a source material:

• Greenfield mainly uses sorted office paper and sorted coloured letters - typically generated by offices which can contain coloured papers, with a minimum 60 % wood-free paper, less than 5% newspapers and packaging. Free from carbon paper and hard covers.
• Le Bourray uses: Coated woodfree papers, lightly printed, without paper coloured in the mass and white woodfree books without hard covers

In addition, some waste paper is used at Le Bourray which contains; sorted white woodfree writing papers free from carbon papers and non-water soluble adhesives.

Manufacture of recycled pulp

Sorted waste paper is turned into high grade pulp using advanced technology that enables the production of a recycled pulp with the highest brightness and lowest dirt content on the market.

The process includes:

• Deinking
• Cleaning
• Washing
• Chlorine free whitening

The advanced technology allows for complete elimination of all contaminants and extraneous materials in recovered paper whilst 99% of ink and glue is removed from the pulp during this process whilst preserving cellulose fibre quality.

*based on Greenfield

Recycled Paper manufacture

Recycled Paper is manufactured from recycled pulp, this can either be ‘in-line’ (pulp and paper produced in one process) or pulp can be produced and transported to a paper mill for paper production.

In this process:

• Pulp is mixed with water in a ‘pulper’ and refined
• Pulp is poured from the 'head box' onto a 'the wire' and meshed together
• This paper base is pressed together through a press section to become a sheet
• The newly pressed sheet travels through a drying section to become a base paper
• The base paper is then size-coated and dried again
• Once the ‘jumbo reel’ has been quality checked, the paper is then given a final coating on a coating machine

For more information see recycled paper manufacture

Recycled Paper

High quality recycled paper produced from sustainably sourced post-consumer waste with the best technical and printing performance on the market. Paper is available in sheets or reels with various certifications depending on end use. Paper is largely sold via UK merchants.

Printing and conversion of final product

The recycled paper is then printed and converted into its final use – no additional processes need to be used for recycled papers as their technical capabilities and printing performance is comparable to virgin fibre paper.

Paper Use

Recycled paper is then used for its end use, this can be anything from Report and Accounts, magazines, publishing and posters to speciality applications such as labels, bags, gift cards and anything in between. The wide range of grammages and whiteness means that there is a paper for any requirement.