Increasing population and higher standards of living are pressurising our resources, many of which are finite. Businesses must conserve these resources as well as use them more wisely.

Reclaim offers a range of waste paper recycling services that assist production efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and create economic benefits for individual businesses and organisations.

Reclaim has designed a simple and effective system for the secure destruction and recycling of confidential business paper. Reclaim has provided this service to small, medium and large organisations for over 15 years.

Paper & Cardboard

Essentially, paper and cardboard are very fine man-made slithers of wood – forced to take these shapes using water, chemicals, heat and pressure. To ensure quality of product, all source recyclable paper and cardboard must be suitable for use with no impurities (especially any waxes or oils, and cross-contamination of Ground Wood and Wood Free paper stocks). This is why specialist recycling collection companies focus on separation, maintaining product integrity is key.

Paper and cardboard grades can be a challenge to identify for clean recycling. Some papers have aluminium or plastic coatings on them (usually for liquid containment, like boxed drink packs or coffee cups) and these are often unsuitable for recycling. Some materials are contaminated, especially with oil or grease, and these then become unsuitable, such as food containers. Some materials have better qualities than others, such as brightness, fibre length and tearability.

Paper recycling is crucial for New Zealand.

One tonne of paper saves 31,700 litres of water as much more is needed when using fresh wood. The whole conversion process takes less than an hour. There are 40,000 pieces of A4 paper in one tonne. More energy is saved as the need for grinding wood into pulp is decreased and fewer trees are felled. New Zealand relies on high export revenues from trees and we should reduce their conversion in to paper and cardboard.

Mechanical/Groundwood Paper

This is made from wood pulp that has simply been ground down. This type of fibre forms weak bonds and is used in paper made for temporary use such as newsprint. It is high in lignin which when exposed to light turns the paper yellow. It is one of our lowest grades of paper.

Wood Free Paper

This is made from a wood pulp that has been chemically treated and is free from wood impurities (our highest grades of paper, kraft, offset papers, whites, ledger). The process removes the lignum (wood glue) which holds the tree together. Due to this process this paper is known as being Wood Free paper. Printers predominantly use this paper.

Grain

Grain affects paper in the following ways (these need to be considered in the proper use of paper):

(1) Paper folds smoothly with the grain direction and roughens or cracks when folding cross-grain.
(2) Paper is stiffer in the grain direction
(3) Paper expands or contracts more in the cross direction when exposed to moisture changes.

In books and catalogues, grain direction should be parallel with the binding edge. If it is perpendicular with the binding edge, the pages turn less easily and do not lie flat. Paper for sheet fed offset is usually grain long. Moisture changes affect the shorter dimension and register problems are reduced.

Brightness & Whiteness

Brightness and Whiteness are two paper properties that are constantly confused by designers and others in the creative community. They are not the same; Brightness does not equate with Whiteness, or the reverse.

Brightness is the measure of a paper's ability to reflect light. The higher the number, the brighter the sheet, which is rated on a scale of zero to one hundred.
Brightness is the volume of light reflected off the sheet of paper. Think of the paper as a light bulb. Papers that are rated higher on the Brightness scale will allow the four-color process colors to pop more, appear more vibrant, enhance impact and create contrast on the page.

Whiteness is the quality of light; it refers to the shade of the sheet of paper. The three major shades of paper are: balanced white, warm white and blue white. Most coated papers (and many uncoated papers, too) are currently manufactured to a blue white shade. To the human eye, the blue white shade appears to be brighter. And this is the reason for the confusion.

Paper Recycling

This is what typically happens to paper collected for recycling in NZ.

Paper comes in various forms, each type is determined by the use of the paper: strength, whiteness, flexibility, ease and quality of ink printing, resistance to UV light.

WHITE PAPER consists of hard (not coated) and soft (coated) wood free white paper trims from printers (can include Candida envelopes, Spicers trim and rejects). All white paper is pre-consumer and is sourced from printers. This becomes similar clean white paper, mixed becomes card, newspapers and magazines etc.

OFFICE PAPER is higher quality mixed paper, 60% white or lightly tinted, 20% newspapers/magazines, 20% others such as envelopes and pads etc. All office waste is post-consumer waste and comes from many office-type environments. When recycled all white paper becomes similar clean white paper, mixed becomes card, newspapers and magazines etc.

MIXED PAPER is all non sorted paper, or parts-of, that have been mixed together. Most mixed paper is post-consumer waste and typically comes from schools, printers and newsagents.
Products types remanufactured include card, newspapers and magazines etc.

SHREDDED LEDGER PAPER is derived from document destruction. Usually sorted to exclude cardboard, magazines, newspaper & other ground-wood paper. All ledger security paper is post-consumer waste and is sourced from offices dealing with confidential information and where document destruction is needed (such as lawyers, hospitals, corporate offices and banks). This usually becomes card, newspapers and magazines etc.

OVER ISSUE MAGAZINE/NEWSPAPER is coated ground wood newspaper and magazine sections from web presses. All over issue paper is pre-consumer and usually directly sourced from printers. It is often mixed with fly-leaf shavings as this is waste from the same print process. This usually becomes magazines and books.

UNPRINTED NEWS is clean unprinted newspaper or coated mechanical paper. All unprinted newspaper is pre-consumer waste. There are 2 types: Newsprint or Coated Mechanical and both typically sourced from printers. This usually becomes magazines and books.

FLYLEAF SHAVINGS are magazine off-cuts and trimmings from web presses. All leaf shavings paper is pre-consumer and is usually directly sourced from printers. It is often mixed with over issue paper as this is waste from same print process. Usually this resource becomes magazines and books.

MAGAZINE (sections) is magazine paper from web presses. All magazines sections paper is pre-consumer and is usually directly sourced from printers. It is often mixed with flyleaf shavings as this is waste from the same print process. Usually this resource becomes magazines and books.

SUPER MIX consists of high-gloss magazines and posters. Super mix paper is pre-consumer and is sourced from printers. Usually this resource becomes coated book-stock and wood-free paper.

POLYCUP STOCK is polyethylene coated paper cups (hold hot and cold drinks).
All polycup stock paper is pre-consumer and is sourced from manufacturers. The high quality bleached Kraft paper is stripped away from the polyethylene coating (waste) and then used as white Kraft paper.

TISSUE is fine paper tissue off-cuts and is pre-consumer waste. It is sourced from tissue manufacturers and usually becomes tissues or paper.

ENVELOPE TRIM consists of envelope off-cuts. All envelope trim is pre-consumer and is sourced from envelope manufacturers. This is a special grade of paper as glue and plastic windows have to be removed, usually becomes cardboard or newspapers.

Cardboard Recycling

This is what typically happens to cardboard collected for recycling in NZ.

Too much cardboard is still being sent to landfills by waste companies. Cardboard is recyclable and should be made into new cardboard boxes and packaging. By recycling cardboard most businesses will reduce the cost of waste going to landfill, reduce landfill use, and ensure that an important resource is not wasted. Resources consist of Corrugated Cardboard (kraft) and Cores. These contain brown Kraft fibres.

Here is a breakdown of recyclables we can claim from cardboard waste:

Corrugated cardboard (kraft) and cores, these include all cores, corrugated cardboard/boxes or paper containing brown Kraft fibres. Nearly all cores are pre-consumer, nearly all corrugated cardboard or paper is post-consumer. Corrugated cardboard and paper cores typically come from carpet manufacturers, film manufacturers and printers. The types of products remanufactured include corrugated cardboard/boxes, egg trays, fruit trays and weed matting.

REELS/ROLLS are cardboard tubes and all reels are pre-consumer. Waste typically comes from newsprint, paper, carpet tubes, classed as mixed paper from butt rolls, to full-size mill reels. Products types remanufactured include cardboard boxes or new rolls.

There is strong demand in New Zealand for kraft fibre from cardboard for remanufacture into various forms of packaging such as cardboard boxes, egg and fruit trays and weed matting.