A significant problem in recent years is the increase in the mass and volume of municipal waste. In 2001, there were already 1,036 organized waste landfills in Poland. An important issue for environmental protection and the economy is the large share of waste paper in deposited municipal waste. In Polish cities, waste paper accounts for 18.6% of the total mass of waste.
Paper has been known for almost two thousand years. It was invented in China at the end of the 1st century AD. The art of papermaking reached Spain around 1150. Waste paper is any paper (cardboard) that has lost its utility value or did not reach it during the production process.
Waste paper can be a useless, damaged shoebox, a month-old newspaper, an empty egg carton, and documents no longer needed in offices.
For the Polish economy, the reuse of this secondary raw material is an extremely important issue.
In Poznań
(according to City Hall data) in 2001, waste paper accounted for only about 15% of collected secondary raw materials.
The importance of proper management and utilization of waste paper is shown by data on the production of paper, printed materials, and recorded
information media. In 2001, 2,086 thousand tons of paper and cardboard were produced in Poland (in 2000 – 1,934 thousand tons) as well as 256 million notebooks
and exercise books (in 2000, 183 million units).
The current circulation and economic use of waste paper is shown in Fig. 1.
Very often in rural areas, paper is burned in stoves, and the remains after burning – ash – are spread on local roads.
In cities, waste paper is thrown into all kinds of waste containers and then ends up in landfills. Field reconnaissance conducted by the author
in the last few years has allowed us to conclude that people cleaning the surroundings (caretakers) often throw left-over
items into waste containers. Waste paper is also thrown into special containers intended for selective collection.
It should be emphasized that there are towns in Poland where these have not yet been set up.
People sorting through municipal waste at landfills collect waste paper in places where it might be found.
They collect waste paper left by municipal waste containers and pull it out of the containers.
Waste paper is also collected by them at all kinds of waste landfills.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 1/2004.