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Further sorting of paper

 
Paper separated at the trommel screen and ballistic separator needs to be sorted into further types: cardboard, newspaper and pamphlets, and mixed paper.

Cascade separation process

paper cascade – click on image to view it full-size in a new browser window
An air knife – which creates an even stream of air – sends sheets of paper to the cascade separation machine (paper cascade). This removes rogue containers or glass fragments to produce a 'clean' paper.
Paper cascade – full-size image

How it works: Powerful fans open up the sheets of paper – such as newspapers – and blow them out of the top. Heavy material such as containers and pieces of glass drop to the bottom and rejoin the stream of containers.

Paper automated sorting

The remaining paper that does not get sent to the cascade goes through an 'autosort'. The machine uses infrared light, cameras and a colour identifier to reject non-paper that is not suitable for recycling.

Manual sorting

manual paper sorting – click on image to view it full-size in a new browser window
Finally, pickers do a quality check and remove any remaining contaminants. Cardboard, which had been separated by the trommel, is also checked a final time for quality.
Manual sorting – full-size image

Sorted!

At the end of the sorting, we get three separate types of paper:

  • cardboard
  • newspapers and pamplets
  • other mixed paper.
All three types are then baled and stored, ready for transportation.

Related: how plastic is sorted
Final stage: baling 
Previous stage: separating paper from containers 

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