Most paper manufacturers are also recyclers. Waste paper accounts as 60% of material used to produce new paper it is the most important secondary material in German paper mills. Tissues and toilet rolls contain 60-70% waste paper.
Sauce, juice and milk cartons contain cardboard, aluminium and plastic. These materials are separated in a drum pulpier with water and the paper is removed and used to create waste paper. New computer technology can differential composite materials, which makes sorting of materials much more effective.
Tin cans are lifted from waste streams from magnets as they are magnetic. Steel scrap provides 40% of the raw material required for steel production in Germany. A tin can returned to the production can be recycled with no quality loses as many times as desired.
Aluminium cans, foil, lids, etc are separated by a magnetic field and sorted. The material is melted, cast and rolled and then used to produce aluminium sheets and the like which can be printed upon and used for packaging – any waste is returned to the production loop.
Glass is sorted by colour; each colour is recycled separately. Bottles, broken glass, and fragments are then sorted again. Fragments are melted with soda, lime and sand then shaped via blowing processes.
Plastic packing used to be incinerated or thrown into landfill. Half a million tonnes of plastic packaging is recycled per year now. Plastic is sorted into bottles, films, PET, expanded polystyrene and mixed plastics. Expanded polystyrene is ground and shaped into new polystyrene shapes. Plastic films are melted and blown/extruded into new films. Plastic bottles are recycled and the regranulates are used to make kids toys, plastic pallets, etc. Plastics can be recycled better if sorted consistently (ie. Infrared sensors). If plastic is sorted properly and prepared it can be recycled as many times as one likes (ie PET bottles).
The world’s first fully automatic sorting plant is situated in Haneva Anderton. The techniques used reduce costs of sorting and preparing plastic packaging reduces by half. Sieve drums separate waste by size, air separators blow out films and belt magnets lift cans off the belts. Wet mechanical preparation detaches paper fragments. Plastics and aluminium is then shredded in the next stage. Different plastics are soon after separated using a system of centrifuges. Polystyrene and polyethylene are melted into regranulates.
It is essential that people recycle, because so many everyday materials that are thrown out can be recycled and reused – lessening the detrimental impact waste has on the environment. With the advances in modern technology, recycling allows us to minimise waste by colossal margins, i.e. materials can be recycled and used to reproduce new products with zero waste.
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