Recycling Services, Inc. programs are all paper programs that utilize source separation.
This means that material is separated into two streams starting at the deskside.
Each tenant or employee is provided with a deskside recycling container.
Tenants place all recyclable paper materials into the deskside container and all other waste in their regular wastebasket.
Recycling Services, Inc. works with the building cleaning staff to develop a process for collection of recyclables.
Recycling Services, Inc. recommends co-collection – where waste and recyclables are picked up at the same time,
but placed in separate receptacles.
Collected materials are picked up and transported to Recycling Services, Inc.’s processing facility.
All material is weighed, unloaded, and graded. Material is then segregated by grade or blended with other paper.
Cardboard and paper are then separated using an OCC Separation Screen or Star Screen.
This machine sorts materials by size – separating larger pieces of cardboard from the smaller sized paper.
Recycling Services, Inc. installed the Star Screen in March 2002 in order to be able to process material more quickly and more efficiently.
(link to article on Star Screen)
Once the paper and cardboard has been separated, the commodities are baled.
In 1999, Recycling Services, Inc. completed a million dollar renovation project that included the installation of a Bollegraaf baler.
The new baler doubled Recycling Services, Inc.’s processing capacity.
In combination with the installation of the Star Screen machine in March of 2002,
Recycling Services, Inc. processing capacity increased fourfold.
Bales of material are then loaded onto trailers and shipped to paper mills.
At the mill, the paper that was originally collected from your facility is used as a raw material for new paper products.
The first step in that process is hydro-pulping.
The paper is conveyed into a pulping machine, similar to an industrialized-sized version of a household blender.
Water and centrifugal force are added to the paper.
The high speed blending action of the pulper breaks down the individual fibers of the paper into a paper slurry, or pulp.
The paper pulp is then run through a series of filters and washings to remove contaminants such as paper clips, staple, and rubberbands.
This process is called the cleaning of the fibers.
The watery pulp is then sprayed onto a large plastic screen.
The screen allows water to drain from the pulp and the paper fibers bond together and form a watery sheet.
The wet sheets are then pressed between heated, felt-covered rollers to remove excess water and make the paper smooth and strong.
Paper sheets from the machines may be as wide as 200 inches and as long as 150,000 feet.
The long sheets are made into large rolls, called parent rolls. Parent rolls are then cut down into smaller sizes for
conversion into final product form. At the converting operation, machines cut, fold and package
the sheets according to the specifications of the end product.
Finished products are then shipped out to vendors and distributors.
Products made from recycled paper include cereal boxes, egg cartons, newspapers, and tissue and toweling products.
