Have you ever wondered what happens to the tonnes of paper used/discarded in the government offices in Delhi Government (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India) everyday? Here lies the answer-all of it is recycled in a first-of-its-kind initiative undertaken by any state government in India at a ‘Paper Recycling Plant’ that has been set up within the Delhi Secretariat Office Complex itself. Read on for a virtual visit to this ‘green’ initiative:

This ‘Paper Recycling Machine’ was set up on World Environment Day (5th June) 2005 in as part of the Delhi Government’s Bhagidari scheme.

“With just three full-time staff , this unit helps recycle (per day) about 50 kgs of paper on an average and produces 200-250 sheets of recycled paper”, informs Dr. B.C Sabata, Senior Scientific Officer in the Department of Environment, Delhi Government.

Most file covers,  invitation cards and even felicitation certificates used in the Delhi Secretariat are made of recycled paper.

This is how the unit works:

1. It all begins with efficient ‘Segregation’ of waste thus, each office under the Delhi Government has a separate bin placed therein which is to be used only to discard waste paper (without staples and non-laminated). This is then sent to the recycling unit.

However, newspapers and glossy sheets are not sent over to this plant and recycled separately at other recycling units.

2.  Waste paper is soaked in water placed in buckets for a couple of hours and then transferred to a ‘Hydrapulper’ in which the soaked paper is converted into fine pulp.

3. The technicians at the plant now pour this pulp on the wire mesh placed in the ‘Univat’. The quantity of pulp pored on the mesh is directly related to the thickness of paper one wants, so it will be more if they want to make paper for the purpose of printing a certificate and less if one wants to make file folders out of it.

3. Then the sheet is transferred gently between sheets of muslin cloth

4. About 50 alternating sheets of wet paper pulp sheet and muslin cloth are placed in a ‘Screw Press’ and the water is drenched out completely.

5. The sheets are sun dried and it takes a couple of hours of good sunlight to dry them completely.

6. The sheets are pressed in a ‘Calendering Machine’.

7. The pressed sheets are sent to the plant in Ghitorni where they are cut and printed as per the requirements of the various offices in the Delhi Government to make things like the ones shown below.

What next?

Keeping in line with the Delhi Government’s intent to host the first ever ‘green’ Commonwealth Games (that are due to begin from October 3rd, 2010), the Environment Department has  also identified over 80-100 schools having paper recycling units to recycle waste paper that would be generated from different venues of the event.

Do you want to recycle your waste paper? We at ‘Jaagruti’ can help you!

Segregate every tiny little scrap of paper waste in your home and office and not just newspapers and magazines as most of us generally do.

If your organisation/company is interested in getting your waste paper recycled, please contact  JAAGRUTI™ Waste Paper Recycling Services on +91-98101 91625 or mail us at paper@we-recycle.org or post a query below:

How can you segregate every bit of waste paper?

Keep a separate carton aside in your home to dump the tiniest, little piece of scrap paper or cardboard lying in your home- like

– envelopes of letters that reach you in the mail,

– medicine/ointment cartons,

– brown/normal paper bags that we generally get when we buy stuff from the stationary vendor or local chemist shop

– Pamphlets that come in hordes inserted in your daily newspaper

– Movie Tickets, Parking tickets, Bus tickets

and anything else that you can think off !

How does recycling paper help the planet?

Indian consumption of paper is five kilograms per capita, with an expected growth rate of 6-7% per annum over the next five years. By using paper carelessly, we contribute to the depleting forest cover, drastic climate change and water pollution. For every ton of paper, the paper industry guzzles up 2.8 tons of dry timber and 24,000 gallons of water, besides electricity and other resources. Pulp and paper industry is a major contributor in terms of air and water pollution. Recycling of paper not only saves trees and minimises pollution, but also reduces the waste problem by utilizing waste material like used paper, cotton rags and unwanted biomass.

* Recycling Paper helps in-

– Waste Reduction: Paper accounts for a significant amount of municipal waste so recycling paper means less waste and disposal problem

– Energy conservation: 60-70% energy savings over virgin paper production

– Resource conservation:Recycled paper uses 55% less water and helps preserve our forests

– Pollution reduction: Recycled paper reduces water pollution by 35%, reduces air pollution by 74%, and eliminates many toxic pollutants

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Remember: Recycling makes SENSE!

All photos (C) Vasudha Mehta/Jaagruti, 2010