Paper
is the main form of waste
created by schools, making
up at least a quarter
of all its rubbish
Paper Fact:
Did you know that - It takes 17 trees
to make 1 ton of paper!
- Recycled paper
produces 73% less air
pollution than if it was
made from raw materials!
-
Set up a paper collection
scheme for each classroom
by making ‘paper
only’ boxes for the
pupils and teachers to
put used paper in. Make
sure they are clearly
labeled and put in an
obvious place
- Involve pupils
by inviting them to create
posters and bright labels
for the recycle bins
1.
Used newspapers and magazines
are collected from paper
banks and recycling schemes
and transported to the
paper mill. White paper
is also collected, but
the two different types
of paper are taken to
different mills and recycled
separately.
2. At the paper
mill, conveyor belts feed
the old paper into the
Fibre Preparation Plant,
where it goes into the
giant pulpers.
3. Water and chemicals
are mixed with the waste
paper inside the pulpers.
This washes the ink and
other contaminants off
the paper fibres. The
soggy, mushy paper is
now called pulp.
4. The pulp is
then injected between
two wire meshes to form
a damp paper sheet. This
is dried to form the new
recycled paper.
5. The dried paper
is polished and then rolled
into jumbo reels, some
9.2 metres wide and weighing
more than 30 tonnes. The
paper reels are then cut
into smaller sizes to
be sold.
Recycling
just one plastic bottle
can save the same amount
of energy needed to power
a 60 watt lightbulb for
6 hours!
It takes about 25 recycled
soft drink bottles to
make one fleece jacket.
Plastic can take up to
500 years to decompose.
-
There are about 50 different
types of plastic. The
main types include:
HDPE – Opaque
bottles PVC – Transparent
bottles, with a seam running
across the base PET – Transparent
bottles, with a hard moulded
spot in the
centre of the base.
• Always Clean
bottles before recycling
them.
• Buy plastic
bottles in bulk whenever
possible to reduce packaging
waste.
1.
Plastic bottles for
recycling are collected
from bottle banks or
from your recycling
bins.
2. The bottles
are taken away by lorry
to be sorted and then
squashed
into big blocks.
3.
The blocks are then
taken to a factory,
where they are cut up
into
small flakes –
like little, colourful
corn flakes.
4. The flakes
are washed and dried,
then taken away to be
melted
and made into new plastic
objects.
A
wide range of goods that
you buy in the shop are
packaged in cans including
drinks, meats, fruits
and animal foods.
-
By using recycled aluminium,
95% of the energy needed
to produce cans from raw
materials is saved.
- Many cans, particularly
soft drink cans, are made
from aluminium. Most of
the bauxite ore used to
make aluminium cans is
mined in the tropics,
including many tropical
forests.
- Over 100 million
aluminium cans are purchased
in Ireland every year.
1.
The consumer throws
aluminium cans and foil
into a recycle bin.
2. The aluminium
is then collected and
taken to a treatment
plant.
3. In the treatment
plant the aluminium
is sorted and cleaned
ready for reprocessing.
4. It then goes
through a re-melt process
and turns into molten
aluminium, this removes
the coatings and inks
that may be present
on the aluminium.
5. The aluminium
is then made into large
blocks called ingots.
Each ingot contains
about 1.6 million drinks
cans.
6. The ingots
are sent to mills where
they are rolled out,
this gives the aluminium
greater flexibility
and strength.
7. This is then
made into aluminium
products such as cans,
chocolate wrapping and
ready meal packaging.
8. In as little
as 6 weeks, the recycled
aluminium products are
then sent back to the
shops ready to be used
again!
Cardboard
is just a thicker, stronger
version of paper. It is
often used for packaging
and to make boxes and
other containers, because
it is so lightweight and
strong.
It is important to recycle
cardboard because, like
paper, it is made from
wood pulp from trees.
Preserving forests benefits
our rivers and lakes,
as well as the air we
breathe. By recycling
cardboard and paper, you
can also save the homes
of many different types
of wildlife..
Paper
and cardboard makes up
32% (nearly one-third)
of all the household rubbish
that we throw away.
Cardboard consists of
two different types of
paper: smooth paper, called
liner; and crinkly paper,
called fluting. Cardboard
is made up by putting
three layers together
– a liner on the
top, a liner on the bottom
and the crinkly fluting
in the middle, which makes
it strong.
Some recycled cardboard
is so strong that you
can use it to make things
that might have otherwise
been made from wood or
metal, like furniture,
large containers –
even dog kennels!
1.
Used cardboard is picked
up from local recycling
centres, as well as
from shops, factories
and offices.
2. All the cardboard
is sent to a waste paper
merchant where it is
made into large bales,
ready for transportation
to the paper mill.
3. At the paper
mill, a fork lift truck
lifts the bales onto
a conveyor, where it
is taken into the pulper.
4. In the pulper,
water and chemicals
are added to make a
soggy, mushy pulp. The
pulp is cleaned, de-inked
and then dried into
flat rolls of paper.
5. The large
rolls of new recycled
paper are cut into smaller
size rolls for the customers
who will make the different
papers into cardboard
for new boxes, containers
and packaging.
