Summary of Documentations on Paper Recycling

Summary of documentations on paper recycling
In Japan, the US, Europe and China
Recycling benefits the environment much more than other waste management methods (Technical University of Denmark and the Danish Topic Centre on Waste and Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), 2006). With the environmental, economic and societal benefits, we can conclude that building an effective paper recycling system in China would be a good idea. This paper is a basic summary of paper recycling practices in Japan, the US and Europe. It is intended to be a reference for drawing up an appropriate and practical plan for school and office paper recycling projects in China.
Paper Recycling Statistics
Japan has an extraordinary reputation in paper recycling because of its refined and effective paper recycling system. While the volume of recovered paper grew in the 1980s, the paper recycling rate went through a stagnant period before the rate started to rise rapidly in 1997. Japan’s paper recycling rate reached 77.9% in 2011, but the volume was 21.5 million tons, which is less than the 22.7 million tons recycled in 2008, due to less consumption of paper(Paper recycling in Japan, 2012).
According to the 2012 sustainability report of American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), the U.S. achieved a paper recycling rate of 66.8% (about 46 million tons of paper) in 2011, which was nearly twice the 1990 rate. In addition, the goal of the AF&PA’s “sustainability initiative - Better practices, Better Planet 2020”, is to achieve a paper recycling rate of more than 70% by 2020.
Europe has the highest recycling rate of paper in the world. In the annual monitoring report of European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC), 71.7% (about 58 million tons) of paper consumed in Europe was recycled in 2012, high above the 54% rate in Asia and the world average of 56.5%. 13 out of 44 countries in Europe have achieved a paper recycling rate of more than 70%. Europe’s progress in paper recycling has been very impressive since the European paper industry made a commitment to increase paper recycling and implement better performance measurement practices in 1998. The level of consumption of paper is now roughly the same as it was in 1998, while the recycling rate is 1.5 times higher.
Compared to developed economies mentioned above, China has a comparatively worse performance in paper recycling. In 2011, the volume of recovered paper was 43 million tons, and the paper recycling rate was only 44.59%. Because of uneven development, recycling rates were different from region to region. Coastal provinces have higher paper recycling rates than the inner and western parts of China.
Analysis here…….
Paper Recycling Practices
Paper recycling starts at the source. Sources of recovered paper are divided into 4 categories: residential, commercial, industrial and offices and institutional. This measurement method is universal throughout the world.
In Japan, there is a high level of public awareness about paper recycling. They also have the Law on the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources to regulate paper recycling. They reclassified the sources into 3 groups: “family residences”, “small-quantity sources” and “large-quantity sources”. Different kinds of collectors collect paper from different groups. Then the collectors deliver all the paper they collect to recyclers. The recyclers will check the quality of the paper and sort the paper into different kinds and press the same quality paper into standard-sized units. The recyclers will sell the sorted and pressed paper units to paper mills as raw material. The collector’s role can be performed by local authorities, neighborhood associations, public facilities, super markets, etc.(Paper recycling in Japan, 2012). The most important thing is that people in Japan are aware of the importance of waste classification and paper recycling. This makes it easier to accomplish the following paper recovery steps.
Europe’s system is similar, except that collectors take up the recyclers’ job, so the paper goes directly from collectors to paper mills. Besides that, Europe also has thorough and strict regulations on paper recycling. To improve paper recycling in the office, ERPC gives 9 simple rules that are easy to remember and perform, in addition to national and regional guidance (Paper recycling in the office, 2012).
In the U.S., the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act of (1976) is the very first regulation concerning paper recycling. Now, more than 13 states have regulations specifically on paper recycling. In contrast to Japan, the paper collection in the U.S. is mostly fulfilled by private companies. The market competition mechanism helps increase the efficiency in all businesses. In this case, paper recycling is not an exception (A brief analysis of American paper recycling methodology, 2013).
A Draft of Paper Recycling Protocol in Offices and Schools
China’s current resource recycling system lacks regulation and organization. In order to improve that, one crucial step is to implement more regulations on resource conservation and recovery. While working on that, the government can enforce the experimental paper recycling protocol in institutions that consume a large volume of paper. From Japan and Europe, China can learn that a good place to start this experiment is offices and schools. It is the responsibility of China Environmental Protection Administration (CEPA) to draft a paper recycling protocol and make sure to put it into practice in selected offices and schools.
The main goal of this draft is to provide guidance on how to classify used paper in offices and schools and make sure that recovered paper will be delivered to recyclers. The draft should include detailed rules on each step of the recycling process. From the beginning, China can adopt the rules on paper classification that Japan and Europe are using. Paper used in the office can be sorted into different categories: newspapers, magazines, cardboards, office documents, shredded paper and other paper materials. Paper used in schools can be sorted into textbooks, cardboards and other paper materials (Paper Recycling in Japan, 2012). Company and school authorities should be required to be fully involved in the practice of this protocol by monitoring the process and rewarding impressive achievements. Company and school authorities should collect paper according to the protocol and sell the sorted paper in large quantities directly to recyclers.
This protocol should be regarded as an initial attempt in building a better paper recycling system. It should be aware that, to achieve a better performance in paper recycling, the government must do much more.
WHY… HOW…
AT A TIME WHEN CHINA IS STRUGGLING…

References
American Forest & Paper Association (2012). 2012 AF&PA Sustainability report.
A brief analysis of American paper recycling methodology (2013, Sept. 13). Retrieved November 11, 2013, from Chinabaike website, http://www.chinabaike.com/t/30586/2013/0913/1537238.html
Case history: The truth about recycling (2007, June 7). Retrieved November 11, 2013, from The Economist website, http://www.economist.com/node/9249262
European Recovered Paper Council (2012). Paper recycling: Monitoring report 2012.
European Recovered Paper Council (2012). Paper recycling in the office: Simple rules for serving the environment.
Henrik Wenzel (2006). Environmental benefits of recycling: An international review of life cycle comparisons for key materials in the UK recycling sector.
Paper Recycling Promotion Center (2012, Sept.). Paper recycling in Japan.
Qinping Huang (2006, Jan.). Mr. Gu Mingda, the specialist talks on the recycling of wasted paper. China Packaging Industry, 1, 49-50.
Technical University of Denmark and Danish Topic Centre on Waste, Waste & Resources Action Programme (2006). ….

References: American Forest & Paper Association (2012). 2012 AF&PA Sustainability report. A brief analysis of American paper recycling methodology (2013, Sept. 13). Retrieved November 11, 2013, from Chinabaike website, http://www.chinabaike.com/t/30586/2013/0913/1537238.html Case history: The truth about recycling (2007, June 7). Retrieved November 11, 2013, from The Economist website, http://www.economist.com/node/9249262 European Recovered Paper Council (2012). Paper recycling: Monitoring report 2012. European Recovered Paper Council (2012). Paper recycling in the office: Simple rules for serving the environment. Henrik Wenzel (2006). Environmental benefits of recycling: An international review of life cycle comparisons for key materials in the UK recycling sector. Paper Recycling Promotion Center (2012, Sept.). Paper recycling in Japan. Qinping Huang (2006, Jan.). Mr. Gu Mingda, the specialist talks on the recycling of wasted paper. China Packaging Industry, 1, 49-50. Technical University of Denmark and Danish Topic Centre on Waste, Waste & Resources Action Programme (2006). ….