ABSTRACT
An estimated 30 million tonnes were recycled out of a total of 177 million tonnes of solid waste generated in the United States in 1990. Manufacturers need to be aware not only of the possibilities for waste reduction in their manufacturing processes, but also how their product design and packaging will impact waste disposal. The third element in the integrated waste management approach, recycling, captured the imagination of environmental groups and the public in the early 1970s. Wastepaper and paperboard is comprised of nearly a hundred different specialized grades that fall into five major categories: old newspaper, old corrugated cardboard, high-grade deinking papers, pulp substitutes and mixed papers. Using a strict definition, recovered paper and paperboard includes pre-consumer waste fiber generated internally during the manufacturing process in the form of trimmings, roll ends and repulped rolls, as well as materials generated in households, offices, and other post-consumer sources.
