Background of the Study

Paper is the most important example of the world's greatest inventions. It was

used to write and print on, cover our walls, clean and filter, among other things. No

matter what date you want to use, the invention of paper was almost instantly a high

demand product Remember, people wrote a long time before paper was invented. They

used a variety of materials in order to write, from clay tablets to papyrus, parchment,

animal skins, stones, tree bark and other items, to keep track of time, products, and

other things worth remembering1. Paper has been known as one of society's basic

building blocks, but has been taken for granted in today's advanced world. Paper and

associated items such as paperboard, cardboard, tissue and newsprint incorporate the

present generation's social fabric2.

The pulp and paper industry of the Philippines contributes around P30 billion

annually to the economy in domestic sales value, or saves the country $700 million

annually in foreign exchange from imported paper and board. Although paper and

paperboard consumption remain low at 19 kg per capita in the Philippines, total annual

demand is growing at 2.5 percent per year, with high growth levels for packaging and

tissue grades. In addition, overall paper and board demand in the Philippines is

expected to reach 2 million tons at current consumption rates within five years, or an

additional 0.3 million tons per year. The Philippines currently has twenty-four (24) non-

integrated paper mills with a total annual production capacity of 1.3 million tons of

paper and paperboard, as well as four (4) abaca pulp mills producing 25,000 tons of

non-wood specialty pulp per annum3.

 According to the DENR, recyclable waste accounts for nearly a third of MSW

(27.78%) with an estimated range of 4.1% to 53.3%. Plastic packaging products compose

approximately 38% of this waste fraction and paper and cardboard waste, contributing

approximately 31%. Metals, glass, fiber, leather and rubber make up the remaining 31

percent. The typical composition of MSW in the Philippines is shown in the Figure 14.

Figure 1 Composition of municipal solid waste in the Philippines, 2008-2013

Despite the high amount of waste paper produced, the Philippine paper industry

remains largely a net importer of waste paper products as its primary raw material2.

For the past years, intensive programs have tried to promote paper recycling. In

addition to reducing pollution and conserving landfill space, the main argument in favor

of recycling paper is that it preserves trees, which is justified by the fact that trees

generate positive externalities such as direct amenities, soil conservation, and carbon

sequestration5. Paper is mainly recycled for producing recycled paper 6. Recovered

paper or board is converted into recycled pulp in increasingly complex process chains,

the main purpose of which is to remove all unsuitable or potentially detrimental

substances from the fibers. All fibers of the resulting recycled pulp therefore have at

least once before been part of a paper or board product 7.

The paper production from the recycled fiber requires less energy; conserves the

natural resources respectively, wood and decreases the environmental pollution. Paper

recycling can reduce the volume of solid wastes while producing a main product with

less raw material and energy costs8. Therefore, the reuse of waste paper can be still an

effective solution to provide necessary raw material for this large lignocellulosic-

demanding industry, with less costs, while turning a type of solid waste into a main

product and to overcome environmental challenges caused by this waste material.

Ultimately, although the world’s population is growing and paper’s diverse utilizations

are expanding more and more, recycling should be encouraged to take on a larger share

of the product mix offered by the paper industry9.

Bibliography

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(2015).

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(2016).

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- A review. Cellulose Chemistry and Technology (2018).

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Recycling: State-of-the-art for Practitioners, Analysts, and Scientists (2014).

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and its Environmental Impact. Environ. Manag. Pract. 329–350 (2009).

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Solution. Lignocellulose 1, 164–165 (2012).