Paper 

Paper is a 100% natural and recyclable resource made of wood fibers. In 2022, according to the American Forest and Paper Association, over 90% of US cardboard was recycled, and almost 68% of all paper.

Household waste paper is a mix of paper waste containing newspapers, printer paper, magazines, junk mail, and paperboard packaging.

Cardboard waste is brown corrugated cardboard waste from parcel boxes or cardboard packaging. 

Confidential waste paper – Printed documents with sensitive information, such as personal data. Most of these documents end up in a paper shredder. This shredded waste paper is an important resource for the tissue industry.

Internationally, about half of all recovered paper comes from converting losses (pre-consumer recycling), such as shavings and unsold periodicals; approximately one-third comes from household or post-consumer waste.

Did You Know…?

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that recycling causes 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution than making virgin paper. 

As of 2018, paper accounted for one-third of all recyclables collected in the U.S., by weight. The widespread adoption of the internet and email has led to a change in the composition of the waste paper stream, with junk mail becoming a larger portion of materials collected, as reading newspapers and writing personal letters declines. 

Have you ever heard that paper has “seven generations”? That phrase refers to how many times paper can be recycled before its fibers become too short and must be mixed with virgin fibers to make new paper.

Paper Recycling in Taos County

Taos County recycles corrugated cardboard (including egg cartons, rolls from toilet paper and paper towels, and paper bags). It plans to recycle other papers as equipment and personnel to process it become available.  The New Mexico Environment Department continues to assist with needed equipment and recycling projects through the annual RAID (Recycling and Illegal Dumping) grant, which awards of $266,667 statewide, for which Taos County applies every year.

Some History

In the mid-19th century, there was an increased demand for books and writing material. Until then, paper manufacturers used discarded linen rags for paper, but supply could not keep up with increased demand. By the beginning of the 19th century, in the United Kingdom, books were bought at auctions to recycle fiber content into new paper.

In 1690, nearly a century before the American Revolution, the first paper mill to use recycled linen rags was established. In 1993, 300 years later, another milestone was reached: For the first time, more paper was recycled than was landfilled.