How Recycled Paper Is Made!

Waste paper is collected, sorted, baled and transported to a paper recycling plant. You can help by sorting paper and keeping it dry and out of the sun (water and sunlight make it harder to remove ink).



At the paper factory, used paper is mixed with water in a huge blender called a "hydrapulper," which mixes the paper with water, pulling inks away from the paper fibers and separating the fibers themselves. De-inking chemicals are sometimes also added.



The pulp mixture passes through several different-sized screens, which separate the paper fibers from paper clips, staples and other contaminants.



In most cases, the clean pulp is then mixed with some new wood pulp to make the recycled paper stronger. Recycled paper fibers get shorter the more often they are recycled. Most fibers can be recycled! The clean pulp is pressed into sheets, dried, finished and placed onto rolls.