When recycled paper first emerged with any force, it became something of a fashion. Papermakers and merchants enthusiastically sold it, and designers and printers happily jumped on the bandwagon, all keen to be seen as caring for the planet. It was also a great opportunity for some creative marketing.

Although there is still an awareness of recycled paper, the general fervour over using it has died down. Now it is not so much about saving the world as using plain common sense to try and use the Earth’s resources in the most sustainable and harmless manner. This message has mostly been understood, especially in northern Europe and Nordic countries, and now in these regions recycling is an instinctive part of everyday life.

There are basically two stages that go into obtaining a 100 per cent recycled sheet – de-inking and papermaking. Both activities involve many different processes. Dalum owns and operates two plants, the de-inking plant at Maglemølle, 50km south west of Copenhagen and the paper mill at Odense on the island of Funen, about 100km away. This island is famous as being the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. The waste paper itself is recovered from various sources, including printing and finishing companies falling within a 300-mile radius of the de-inking plant and is brought in from northern Germany and the south of Sweden as well as from Denmark.

Pulp process

The waste paper is delivered to the de-inking plant in bales, which are made up of various forms of printed material. The contracted supplier makes sure that the amount of coloured paper, unbleached paper, newspaper and magazines does not exceed a total of 5 per cent in each bale. In addition, to achieve the Blauer Angel standard, which the company holds, each bale must contain at least 75 per cent post-consumer waste.

It is in the processing and production of pulp at the de-inking plant that the company’s own commitment to the environment really makes itself evident. At this plant the fibres are separated, screened and vigorously washed before being turned into sheets of pulp. Because of the nature of this task – stripping residues of ink, glue, plastic, metal and numerous other components that go into paper products – a lot of waste and sludge is left behind.

Dalum Papir prides itself on the fact that 100 per cent of this residue is reused in various ways. The main bulk of the residue, an amazing 53,000 tonnes, which includes fibres, chalk, china clay and fillers, is used in the construction industry. A new independent company has been formed in the shadow of the plant that has invented a new product, solely based on this waste as its key component. The company makes fire-proof building plates and walls. The filler waste is also used to make cement. The sludge resulting from the biological bleaching process contains 4.5 per cent nitrogen and 0.9 per cent phosphorus, and goes on to make an excellent fertiliser.

Around 200 tonnes of metal comes out of the waste each year, and this is sold off as scrap. The final residue, primarily consisting of plastic, wood and wet strength paper, is burned and the energy produced used for district heating. As with most modern de-inking plants, the water used is recycled, filtered and cleaned, and then returned to the source in a good-quality state.

Papermaking

From the de-inking plant at Maglemølle, the finished pulp is transported by rail to the paper mill at Odense – 16 to 18 carriages every day – Dalum Papir being the largest single customer of the Danish railway system. The paper mill itself was founded in 1874, and was initially started up with a workforce of 130 people who were employed making paper out of old rags.

There are two paper machines at the Dalum mill, PM6 and PM7, which combined produce the full Cyclus range. The company also produces another range of papers called RePrint with a minimum 50 per cent recycled raw materials and the rest made up of virgin fibre. PM6 has a capacity of 45,000 tonnes per year, and produces only uncoated paper, including CyclusOffset, CyclusOffice and CyclusEnvelope. PM7 has a capacity for 80,000 tonnes per year, and has an in-line coater. This machine produces CyclusPrint and RePrint. The coated recycled goes from 70–200g/m2 and the uncoated from 70–350g/m2.

The mill has a full range of finishing equipment, which includes three sheeters, a ream wrapping line, a reel packing machine, an A4 cut-size line and a shrink-wrap line. Paper can be supplied from the largest reels to A4 sheets.