How do "they" recycle what we recycle?

Question

Ok random though,So you have a cardboard box,and you put it into the recycling bin,and people get it in the center,what do they do then?

How do they fix it so it can be used again,

I understand the smelt metals and re shape them.but cardboard and paper just confuses me.

Answer 1

I've read the other two answers to this, and I wouldn't disagree, but I think it depends on what you're asking (although I might go a bit off topic!).

In terms of "how they fix it" there is obviously a difference between recycling and re-use. The classic is the milk bottle, the success of which depends on what is termed the trippage rate - or how many times the same bottle is put back into recirculation. Whether that stacks up against recycling depends on the energy and raw materials used (e.g. fuel and hot water against breakdown and re-constitution). But yes, if a material is recycled, and taking cardboard as an example, the methods would be as suggested before.

I think the second thing is related to whether there is actually a market. There is a difference between the markets for recyclable materials and recycled materials. For instance we import huge amounts of green glass (beer and wine bottles) but we produce almost none. So where does the recycled green glass go if not back to Europe at a discounted cost. This happened in Germany in a big way in the early nineties and flooded the market with cheap material. The point I'm making is it's all just "waste" unless it's actually got somewhere to go.

Actually that's way off topic, but it's my first visit to the site, so I'll post anyway!!

Dan

Answer 2

Cardboard and paper are shredded, soaked, and chemicals added to soften the fibers.   It's usually bleached again to give it a light color.  Then the pulp is run through machines which press out the moisure, dry it, and cut it in big rolls.  Then it's sold to those who use recycled paper such as newspapers.

Answer 3

Process

While there are differences depending on the specific type of paper being recycled (corrugated fiberboard, newspaper, mixed office waste), recycling processes include the following steps:

Pulping: Adding water and applying mechanical action to separate fibers from each other.

Screening: Using screens, with either slots or holes, to remove contaminants that are larger than pulp fibers.

Centrifugal cleaning: Spinning the pulp slurry in a cleaner causes materials that are more dense than pulp fibers to move outward and be rejected.

Flotation: Passing air bubbles through the pulp slurry, with a surfactant present, causes ink particles to collect with the foam on the surface. By removing contaminated foam, pulp is made brighter. This step is sometimes called deinking.

Kneading or dispersion: Mechanical action is applied to fragment contaminant particles.

Washing: Small particles are removed by passing water through the pulp.

Bleaching: If white paper is desired, bleaching uses peroxides or hydrosulfites to remove color from the pulp.

Papermaking: The clean (and/or bleached) fiber is made into a "new" paper product in the same way that virgin paper is made.

Dissolved air flotation: Process water is cleaned for reuse.

Waste disposal: The unusable material left over, mainly ink, plastics, filler and short fibers, is called sludge. The sludge is buried in a landfill, burned to create energy at the paper mill or used as a fertilizer by local farmers.