Reduce Reuse Recycle What to Do with Your Used Paper
 
Oct 23, 2019
Category:

If you’re wondering what to do with your used paper, we’ve created a handy guide to help you with your paper recycling. These options are easily accessible to anyone who’d like to make greener decisions and take active steps to sustainability.

Why Recycle Paper?

Recycling paper, like with any other natural resource, conserves important materials needed for the planet, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions caused by producing new material from scratch and saving space in overflowing landfills.

Everyone can work towards more sustainability and recycling. This includes businesses, too. Many companies like Asia Pulp and Paper are actively working toward a more sustainable future, which includes the proper recycling of paper products.

Which Paper Types Cannot Be Recycled?

Before you toss everything into the recycling bin, it’s important to remember that not everything can be recycled. There are cases where specific paper can unfortunately not be recycled, and doing so can cause more damage than good. Paper which cannot be recycled is:

● Soiled paper: This means dirty napkins, tissues, pizza boxes or paper plates. Or anything which is dirty and stained, or still has old food attached to it. The contamination from the food could spread to clean paper during the recycling process, resulting in the whole batch ending up in a landfill.

● Shredded paper: Paper in this condition is too weak to be reused, as it has been shortened and thinned out. Shredded paper can be recycled at home, however, by using it in compost.

● Paper coated in wax, plastic or foil: Some paper items may have a coating on them which is not recyclable. An example may be a juice box carton or milk carton. Check your items carefully, and if ever unsure, open up the carton to see if there is a coating inside.

How to Recycle Paper at Home

While it’s always important to put out used paper with your normal recycling collection, it’s not a necessity if you would prefer to use other creative ways to recycle this material. The following options can all be achieved at home:

● Create your own compost: As mentioned with the previous point regarding shredded paper, you can create your own compost at home. Waste paper can form an integral part of a useable compost heap.

● Create your own mulch: This is a quicker option for those who would rather not spend time making their own compost. For garden mulch, break down your waste paper and place in the soil around your plants in order to add much-needed nutrients.

● Use as packing material: Whether to protect valuable items in transit, as part of a gift-wrap for a present or perhaps something you’ve sold online, old newspaper and waste paper can form a great packaging material.

● Make new paper: Yes, you can actually make fresh paper with your old waste paper. This is quite a dedicated task, but it can be done with patience. It may be a good idea to learn more about making new paper and try this activity with the whole family in order to teach the importance of recycling.

How to Recycle Paper at a Business Property

Businesses will produce a lot of waste paper, whether it’s brochures, catalogs, packaging material or general documentation which has been printed and filed. While it is always a good best practice to avoid ordering unnecessary paper, sometimes it is unavoidable.

With paper waste which is unavoidable, businesses should do the following:

● Employ a regular recycling collection service: Ensure that your business has been provided with the dumpsters applicable to each recyclable material, including paper and cardboard, and that this trash unit is regularly collected.

● Pay attention to the level of paper waste: If you find that your paper dumpster is constantly overflowing before the next collection is due, it is clear that you require an additional container. It’s important to ensure that paper waste doesn’t then get combined with regular garbage just in order to get rid of the overflowing waste.

● Ensure all staff is trained in recycling: Business owners are usually not directly involved in the disposal of materials on a daily basis, as it will be the designated employees who take care of this. Therefore it is important that all staff members are trained to understand the importance of recycling, and know where all relevant recycling stations are. They should also be told to whom they should report if a recycling issue arises or if they need advice.

 
 
Brightening the Borders - Why Solar Power is Making Its Way Into the Limelight
 
Mar 05, 2018
Category:

If you have ever thought about how powerful the sun felt on a hot day, you can understand how harnessing that power to use as an alternative, clean energy makes perfect sense. More and more solar power is being used as an excellent renewable energy to power our lives and things are looking bright for the future.

If you’re looking at reasonable ways to cut your energy bills, or just interested in an alternative and clean way to power your home, check with the solar power energy providers in your area. Harnessing solar energy to help power your home offers many benefits, some of which you might not even realise.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of using solar power and why it’s becoming increasingly popular all the time.

The Cost

The cost of using solar power will dramatically reduce the cost of your electricity bills. Because you’re not taking it completely off the electricity grid, but generating it yourself, you save money but it doesn’t end there.

There are often incentives offered by companies and other government rebates and discounts for using solar power and upgrading your system to use them. The cost, in the long run, is well worth the upfront investment for going green.

Plus, there’s the cost to the environment, which is well worth considering. Less wear and tear on our dear mother earth is never a bad thing. You’ll save money and you can rest assured you are doing the right thing in the process.

Not Just Houses

With technology always advancing and changing the way it’s used, there are so many more options for solar power, and the options are growing all the time. You can heat your water and your home, but you can use it to heat your swimming pool and not just in homes, but businesses as well. Larger business and buildings are finding it well worth their while to install solar panels to capture energy that is already there and lower their energy bills while they’re at it.

Going the Distance

Trains, buses and cars, can all tap into the sun’s power and store it for use. This is a huge benefit for transportation. To be able to cut back on energy that traditionally comes from fossil fuels is a going to be huge for both businesses and individuals alike. With running costs lowered, we spend less and the planet scores again.

Mobile Power

Did you know you can charge all your gadgets with solar power? You can. Your mobile phone, e-reader, tablet, as well as solar powered dryers, smaller appliances and your flashlight can all be kept fully-charged at all times with the power of the sun. With our increasing reliance on all these gadgets and more, there’s no doubt that the ability to stay charged on-the-go will be music to many people’s ears.

The Future Looks Bright

There are more and more advancements using solar energy being tested and discovered all the time. As we progress, so does the way we use solar energy, the way we capture it and the way we store it. Solar panels have dropped in price considerably over the years, as more and more are needed, the technology has advanced for more effective, less expensive and better-performing panels.

There are experiments being carried out to harness the energy from space, closer to the sun and even ways of tapping the energy directly from trees. But the truth is, the sun provides more energy to the earth than we can ever use, so tapping it for our use only makes sense. It’s clean, less expensive and readily available.

As ways to make this energy source more efficient and improve its conversion to electricity continue, soon, it won’t be a new energy, it will simply be one of them. The future truly does looks bright for solar power.