T.E American Recycle Company

If so, you can hardly be blamed. Changes in market conditions and recycling technology have required changes to the definitions of several grades of waste paper, and the creation of new grades. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) maintains a current specifications list with 52 grades of waste paper, plus an additional 35 specialty grades for highly specific commodities. Despite this, various geographic regions adhere to different grade specifications which may or may not share terminology, and sometimes use the same terms to refer to different commodities. Mixed Paper A good example is Mixed Paper.* As recently as the 2006 specification there were two grades: Soft Mixed Paper and Mixed Paper. More recent specifications call for three: Residential Mixed Paper, Soft Mixed Paper, and Hard Mixed Paper (HMP). *There are several grades of “mixed” paper, including a few specialized ones having to do with things like industrial trimmings that are beyond the focus of this article. Curbside, multi-commodity recycling produces a dirtier stream of waste paper, and the Residential Mixed Paper grade applies to that, with appropriate higher allowance for prohibited materials and outthrows. Soft Mixed Paper remains unchanged, and the old Mixed Paper has been renamed Hard Mixed Paper, a reflection of the industry trend toward higher specificity in grade definitions. Supermix Unfortunately, this is not the end of confusion when it comes to Mixed Paper. There is a South African grade called Super Mix (SMW) which consists of a 5050 mix of two other grades, Heavy Letter One (HL1) and Heavy Letter Two (HL2). Neither grade corresponds to the ISRI specification for Soft Mix or Hard Mix, yet Supermix has been used to refer to a mix of those grades as well. In Australia a Supermixed Wastepaper grade is in use. Additionally, some urban recycling centers in the USA use Supermix as a catch-all term. The issue is not that people using the term are technically wrong – they know what they mean and presumably so do their markets. The problem is the added confusion and imprecision generated. In an era of ever-increasing scrutiny of recyclable materials, it is of benefit to all to have clear, up-to-date, unambiguous grade specifications. ISRI Mixed Paper Grades (1) Residential Mixed Paper Consists of a mixture of various qualities of paper not limited as to type of fiber content, normally generated from residential, multi-material collection programs. Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 2% Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 5% (2) Soft Mixed Paper Consists of a clean, sorted mixture of various qualities of paper not limited as to type of fiber content. Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 1% Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 5% (3) Hard Mixed Paper (HMP) Consists of a clean, sorted mixture of various qualities of paper containing less than 10% groundwood content. Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 12 of 1% Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 3%

ONP Grades There are four grades of newspapers commonly recycled. According to the latest (2011) Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) Scrap Specifications Circular, these grades are defined as: (6) Old Newspaper Consists of sorted newspapers and other acceptable papers as typically generated by voluntary collection and curbside collection programs. Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 2% Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 4% Other acceptable papers may not exceed 30% (7) Regular News, De-ink Quality (#7 ONP) Consists of sorted, fresh newspapers, not sunburned, and other acceptable papers. This grade may contain magazines. Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 1% Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 3% Other acceptable papers may not exceed 20% (8) Special News, De-ink Quality (#8 ONP) Consists of sorted, fresh newspapers, not sunburned, and other acceptable papers. This grade is to be relatively free from magazines and contain not more than the normal percentage of rotogravure and colored sections. Prohibitive Materials may not exceed 1% Outthrows plus prohibitives may not exceed 2% Other acceptable papers may not exceed 10% (9) Over-Issue News (OI or OIN) Consists of unused, overrun newspapers printed on newsprint, containing not more than the normal percentage of rotogravure and colored sections. Prohibitive Materials – None permitted Outthrows plus prohibitives – None permitted What is ONP used for? ONP is recycled primarily into newsprint. In fact, your newspapers may already have some recycled content. In 2010 Americans recycled 72% of the category ONPmechanical papers (AF&PA). What can I do to maximize the value of my ONP? First and foremost, keep it dry. Too much water will start the re-pulping process right before your eyes! Baled newsprint is penalized for excessive moisture content as well, because it makes the bales heavier. Sunlight “sunburns” newsprint – look for signs of yellowing. Good quality old news print for recycling will look just like the a fresh newspaper. Beware of contamination, both soiling, and the addition of paper or other trash which doesn’t belong in the grade. An excess of either of these can cause your paper to be downgraded, because it will be unsuitable for recycling back into new newspapers.

Contamination in paper recycling is a serious issue, with negative effects ranging from the strictly financial, to the health and safety of industry workers. The rapid expansion of recycling programs has seen a commensurate rise in contamination of collected recyclables. The trend towards single-stream curbside recycling (where paper and other recyclables are commingled with refuse and sorted at a processing facility) has brought contamination to the forefront of debate. Contamination in paper recycling can refer to soiling of paper with food, grease, chemicals, or other noxious compounds, or to the inclusion of inappropriate material for the intended paper grade. Simple soiling is easy to understand; once you’ve used a newspaper to soak up transmission fluid, for example, it is no longer recyclable. Food can also be a source of contamination, which often comes as a surprise. The truth of the matter is that it is difficult to separate pizza grease (or other food contaminants) from paper fibers. This is a major issue in the hotly contested debate surrounding single-stream recycling, as food contamination seems inevitable. Inappropriate materials mixed in with recyclable paper are defined as one of two types, outthrows and prohibitive materials. Outthrows are materials which will need to be thrown out, literally, during the recycling process, and prohibitive materials are things which make the paper unusable. Unlike simple soiling, these are grade dependent. A material can be classified as an outthrow in one grade and as a prohibitive material in another grade. For example, brown kraft bags (grocery type) are welcome in OCC, but would be an outthrow in White Ledger. Waxed cartons or that broken stapler someone chucks into the office recycling bin are prohibitive. If the levels of outthrows or prohibitive materials exceed those specified in the grade definition, the paper is no longer acceptable as that particular grade. It is then downgraded to an appropriate grade. In extreme cases, the paper may become worthless, and suitable only for disposal. American Recycling’s Brian Terrel, on contamination: “Unfortunately, sometimes we receive contaminants in the recyclable materials we receive from our customers. At best, it will result in a reduction of the redemption value of their material due to our need to physically sort out the contaminants. At worst, we may have to assess a fee to recover the landfill costs associated with contaminants or waste in the recycling loads. Because of this, we strongly emphasize the value of maintaining clean, source separated recyclables in order for our customers to receive the highest rebate possible from their materials.” It is in everyone’s best interest to keep contamination out of the recycled paper stream. It is no exaggeration to say that the current sustainable paper industry relies on the reuse of fiber. To dispose of that fiber before it has been recycled is anathema to the industry, and results in an environmental burden on the planet, and a financial burden on everyone involved. Contamination can turn a valuable resource into trash – and that’s everybody’s problem.