Recommendations for the Sustainable Development of Paper Recycling in China 01 Background and Current Status
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Recommendations for the Sustainable Development of Paper Recycling in China 01 Background and Current Status 1.1 Concept and Classification of Recycled Paper Recycled paper/regenerative waste paper refers to recycled and reusable paper which is generated in the production process and everyday living. It differs from non-reusable paper, which cannot be recycled without refined pre-treatment because it contains prohibited substances, such as paper with paint or oil dirt, label stickers, plastic glossy paper, waxed paper, carbon paper, etc. In China, recycled paper is mainly classified into: waste cartons, waste books, 1.2 Resource and Environmental waste newspapers, and others. Among them, waste Value of Recyclable Paper cartons account for 64%, waste books 23%, waste newspapers 10%, and others around 3%. [1] Paper is made from wood, while wood originates from forest. Recycled paper is known as "the Fourth ● Main Types and Percentage of Recycled Paper in China Forest" besides virgin, natural and artificial forests. Waste paper from scrap newspapers, books and 3% periodicals, office paper, kraft paper, paper boxes 10% and corrugated paper are all valuable fibrous raw materials. Recycling of renewable fibrous raw materials can promote the reuse of pulp and improve 23% the pulp utilization rate. This also implies higher paper output from the same amount of wood and 64% a reduced demand for high-intensity forest logging Waste Cartons in the pulp and paper industries, which will in Waste Books Waste Newspapers turn promote the realization of sustainable forest Others management. [2] 01 Using recycled fibrous raw materials to make paper can greatly reduce the consumption of wood, water and electricity and the emission of pollutants in the primary pulping process. Recycling one ton of recycled waste paper can produce 800 kilograms of recycled fiber raw materials, thus saving 17 big trees and a landfill space of 3m3. In addition, papermaking with recycled fibers ischaracterized by low energy consumption, low environmental treatment cost, low unit raw material cost, and can save papermaking energy by over 50% and reduce water pollution by 35%. With growing public awareness of cost control and environmental protection, fibrous materials provided by recycled paper have now become an indispensable source of raw material for the paper industry. [2] 1.3 Current Status of Recycled Paper enterprises are forced to turn to and rely on imported in China recycled paper. As a result, waste paper exported to China has emerged as a new area of trade in foreign Due to limited capital and production capacity and countries, in which foreign waste paper is exported lack of domestic recycled fibrous materials, China into China as raw material. According to the survey had no choice but to import foreign waste paper data of the China Paper Association, China’s paper as the raw material for papermaking in the early and paperboard output reached 108.55 million tons stages of the reform and opening-up. With the rapid in 2016, while paper and paperboard consumption development of China's manufacturing industry, stood at 104.19 million tons. During the year, China the Chinese paper industry has also achieved high- imported 28.50 million tons but exported only speed growth. Today, China has become the world's 2,300 tons of waste paper. According to the China largest producer of paper and paper products. [2] Resources Recycling Association, waste paper Since 2000, almost all incremental carton paper recycling rate was at 49.74% in China in 2016. [1][3] in China has come from recycled fibers. In 2016, carton paper made from recycled fibers accounted 1.4 New State Provisions on Import for nearly 75% of China’s total carton paper output. of Solid Wastes The importance of recycled paper in papermaking fibers is self-evident [5]. With the fast development In April 2017, the Chinese government deliberated of the paper industry, inadequate separation and about and adopted the Implementation Plan for recycling of domestic waste paper has led to the Prohibiting the Entry of Foreign Trash and Pushing underutilization of large amounts of recycled waste Forward the Reform of the Administrative System of paper, which in turn results in far lower quality and Solid Waste Imports. On August 16, the Ministry of pulp yield than those of imported waste paper. Many Environmental Protection of the People's Republic 02 Viii. Recycled (Scrap) Paper and Paperboards, Including Waste Special Paper. Customs No. Commodity Name of Waste Abbreviation Other Requirements or Notes Number Recycled (scrap) Waste wall Include waste carbonless copy paper, wall paper, waxed paper, waxed thermal paper, asphalt moisture proof paper, wax- paper, wax- paper, self-adhesive paper, oiled paper and impregnated impregnated used liquid packaging paper (Tetra packs) 67 4707900010 paper and carbon paper and paper (including carbon paper unsorted scrap products) Other recycled Other waste Do not include waste wall paper, waxed paper or paper paper, wax-impregnated paper, carbon paperboard paper, carbonless copy paper, thermal 68 4707900090 (including paper, asphalt moisture proof paper, self- unsorted scrap adhesive paper, oiled paper, and used liquid products) packaging paper (Tetra packs). of China made a public announcement on the In addition, for sorted waste paper, the Ministry publication of the Catalogue of Imported Waste of Environmental Protection in conjunction with Management (2017), moving 24 types of solid waste the General Administration of Quality Supervision, from the Catalogue of Solid Wastes Usable as Raw Inspection and Quarantine has issued the Material That Are Subject to Import Restriction Environmental Protection and Control Standard for into the Catalogue of Solid Wastes under Import the Import of Solid Wastes Usable as Raw Material, Ban. These 24 types of solid waste include waste setting a 0.5% impunity content for imported waste plastics from living sources (8 types), unsorted paper. This provision went into force on March 1, waste paper (1 type), waste textile raw materials (11 2018. This implies that even for sorted waste paper, types) and vanadium residue (4 types). Among them, if they have a content of over 0.5% in other impurities unclassified waste paper is now placed under import (including wood wastes, scrap metals, waste glasses, ban: [4]. waste plastics, waste rubbers, waste fabrics, waste absorbents, aluminum plastic paper composite packaging, thermal paper, asphalt moisture proof paper, self-adhesive paper, wall paper, waxed paper, wax-impregnated paper, oiled paper, silicon oil paper, carbon paper and other wastes) they will also be barred from entering China. [6] The more stringent waste paper import management policy will pose more severe challenges to the supply of waste paper resources. In the context of the entry management of imported foreign trash and despite the fact that the recovery 03 rate of domestic waste paper and the specific processes of recycled paper sorting, while prolonged shortage of recycled fibrous raw materials likely sorting is prone to cause mildewing and other types to result from the entry management of imported of secondary pollution, thus reducing the quality foreign trash still need to be further verified due to of the recycled paper. Meanwhile, in order to make the complicated statistical process, we nevertheless more gains, some recyclers add more impurities must establish a standard and environment-friendly and moisture into the recycling process, which both system for the recycling and reuse of domestic reduces the quality of the recycled paper and results waste paper as soon as possible. We need to set up in unnecessary losses. [2][3] a standard for sustainable waste paper supply and consumption so as to improve the efficiency and With reference to the four stages of the recycled quality of domestic waste paper recycling. This is paper supply chain – the recycling link from the both an opportunity and a challenge for the recycling generating source to the sorting and processing and circular use of local renewable fibrous materials center, the papermaking link from pulp making in China. [1][2][3] to raw paper formation, the packaging link from raw paper to packaging, and the circulation link from packaging to consumers – and in relation to 1.5 Problems Facing Domestic the above analysis, we can find that low-efficiency waste paper recycling in China mainly occurs in Recycled Paper under the New the circulation link. The recycling link itself also Provisions and Their Causes involves waste paper generating and recycling ends, To a certain extent, lack of preference for domestic as well as a sorting and processing link which plays recycled paper is because recycled paper imported the role of sorting and transferring between them. from foreign countries does have their advantages This document attempts to deconstruct and analyze in both fibrous raw material and cost. Another the recycling link so as to make some practical reason lies in the sound dry and wet separation of recommendations for improving the current situation the imported waste paper, which means a lower of domestic waste paper recycling in China. probability of contamination and mildewing and a good quality guarantee for imported recycled paper. Links of the Recycled Paper Supply Chain However, given the more stringent environmental requirements in force at present, it has now become an urgent issue to be addressed as how to break the current barrier for domestic recycled paper, minimize the negative impact on their quality Recycling Papermaking through better sorting processes and make domestic recycled paper a qualified source of raw material for papermaking enterprises. [2][6] More specifically, lack of domestic waste classification standards, unsound recycling system, non-refined classification of wastes and weak Packaging consumer awareness of recycling all contribute Circulation to complex, time-consuming and heavy-wasting 04 02 The Recycling Link 2.1 The Generating End 2.1.1 Residents Recycled paper generated in residential areas mainly includes yellow straw boards and waste books and newspapers.