Can paper still be recycled, once shredded? Does breaking the fibers make it uselss to recycle? (read details)

Question

I've seen a few question about 'can I recycle shredded paper' with responses talking about how their local council does or doesn't allow, and various reasons like 'it blows around in the factory' and 'they can't tell if it's all the right type of paper'. This is useful, but not so much what I'm after.

I would have thought that reasons for not shredding recycled paper were because having such small strips of paper means the fibers which help the mulch to develop into new paper are all broken. Much in the same way that if you ground paper into dust and tried to recycle it, it wouldn't work - the composition of paper in sheets is needed for it to recycle.

So I'm interested as to whether anyone knows if this is true, or if paper recycling now uses some different method...?

Answer 1

thats how they make wood

Answer 2

The time of paper mills not wanting shredded paper ended decades ago.  Shredded paper is welcome at mills around the world and sells as sorted office pack (SOP).  We run a shredding service and recycle a million pounds of shredded paper every day.

Why some recycling services don't take shredded paper is becuase it is bulky and the cost of collection often exceeds the value of the paper.

Answer 3

Seems to be a bit of both

http://www.recyclenow.com/what_can_i_do_...

Some plants won't take it because of the reduced fibre length, some simply because it is hard to handle.

Answer 4

They absolutely can recycle it.  If the paper has reduced fiber length (which is probably irrelevant given how it's processed), it's easily offset by the higher quality of the paper.  That's assuming the paper was clean office paper.

The paper plant next door has mounds of clear bags full of shredded paper.

Answer 5

Paper can be recycled many times.  Yes, you can definitely recycle shredded paper.  Unshredded paper gets shredded as part of the recycling process anyway.

Answer 6

Basically you loose quality and have to use thicker layers so cannot sell on for a good price because it is low quality...

There are logistical reasons, cos people fill their entire bin with it and when it is tipped up by the collection lorry the paper blows all over the area!

Answer 7

I was told by my council to put it in the black bin with the household wast but place inside a black sack, so I put it in my composter at home, but only in small amounts.