Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

Recycle the paper

The majority of the waste we generate, about 40%, is paper. And the benefits of paper recycling are proportionate, that is, enormous, to the paper we consume. We can provide a lot of data to confirm the advantages of paper recycling: That recycling a ton of paper saves seventeen trees; that we save 26,500 liters of water. Today, however, most of us are well aware of the benefits of paper recycling. Now, the question is different: to help you recycle properly, make a good distinction between cardboard, plastic and paper. Some European factories have started to use very fast automatic paper separation machines. In this report, which has been worked on at the European Union’s Futuris Video Agency, we will see one of them. Our trip will start in Romania.

In this Romanian school, children today have a very special lesson: learning to recycle. Students know that this is essential to keep the forests alive. But not just for that. In fact, recycling paper saves energy and water, as well as protecting the environment.

In Bucharest, as in most European cities, there are associations responsible for the collection of paper. For them, pedagogical work is essential.

By Mihai Ciurevici; Vrancart: We strive to educate our collaborators, including the children of the schools where we receive the paper. If they give us the paper separately, we'll recycle it more easily, and that's what they need to learn.

The process starts at the same collection site, where the first separation takes place. From there they send the material to Adjud. This city in eastern Romania is home to one of the largest recycling factories in the country.
But in the truck, in addition to the paper we want, there are plastics and other types of paper. However, this is not the case only in
Romania. Cristian Banaire, Vrancart Engineer: Not all European territories receive the same amount of paper, not even in all regions. Paper is not the same everywhere. Things can change a lot depending on where in Europe you’ve picked up, because depending on the culture of that place, more or less people will respect the environment.

To find out how paper is separated, we went to Austria, the most recycled country in the European Union. To classify the paper, the most modern machine that probably exists will be installed in Linz. It is designed to separate cardboard, plastic and paper.

Jean Yves- Escabasse; SORT IT: The corrugated cartons, boxes or cartons that we distinguish to make cardboard are not useful for making newspapers, but they are very useful for making cardboard. On the other hand, the fibres used for the manufacture of newspapers, which are also present in printed
paper - white, short fibres containing certain minerals - are very suitable for the manufacture of newsprint, but they are not useful for the manufacture of cardboard, since the cardboard obtained using these fibres is usually not hard enough.

Separation is inevitable. In fact, if the wrong paper is placed in the wrong place, productivity decreases and costs increase. These characteristics are not very suitable for those who want to compete with the new role in the market. Created as part of the European Union research project
SORT IT, the Linz separation plant is equipped with the most advanced technology in this field.

Daniel Sandu; engineer: We use infrared spectroscopy as detection technology. When the paper is illuminated with a halogen lamp, all organic elements begin to move. These elements generate a digital footprint according to the composition. Each material has its own digital footprint, depending on its composition. This makes it easy to know what material should be sent to the printer and what should not be sent. Another
challenge has been to develop a sensor system that performs the process quickly, so that in one hour it is able to distinguish a few tons of paper with high precision.

The machine still needs some finishing touches, but the engineers who are working on it say that when it is finished it will be fully automatic.

Jean Yves- Escabasse, SORT IT: In the future, factories of this type will be built according to local needs: workload, transport, where the recycling plant is located, or where people leave paper.

According to the proponents of the project, this sorting factory will facilitate the separation process, so that an increasing amount of paper will be collected. This model can also be tailored specifically to the characteristics of each region. The environmental benefits would be enormous.

Tatjana Karpenja; environmental engineer: In order to make paper from the new fibre, the fibre must be heated, bleached and treated. But to make recycled paper, the process can be shortened. And this allows us to save energy, resources, chemicals and water.

We're going back to Romania, to the factory
in Adjud. The recycling process largely depends on how the paper has been received. That is why Romania participates in this European project.

By Cristian Banarie; Vrancart: The results of this programme are important to us. In fact, better paper separation could have a direct impact on the recycling process. This allows us to reduce water and energy consumption, help us protect the environment, and at the end of the process we will get a better product.

The final product is the rolls of recycled paper that will be used to make the cardboard. This is how the process ends; the cardboard that will reach the market will be sold at half the price of the remade fiber.

By Jean-Yves Escabasse; Vrancart: we've been wasting 50 years, living in this consumer society. Since World War II, we have squandered resources uncontrollably. But we must think that this period has been a short period in the history of mankind; nothing else. Recycling is the only way to ensure sustainable economic development.

We cannot forget that our contribution is the most important factor in the development of the recycling industry.