Contaminants

When recovering and recycling paper cups the definition of a contaminant largely depends on whose point of view one is looking at. For some recycling mills the plastic lid on the coffee cup is a contaminant, for another recycling mill the dregs of the milkshake is the contaminant, and for another mill the polyethylene layer offers a barrier to recycling.

For most recycling mills, the fewer the contaminants of any description the more efficient use can be made of the recovered paper cup. Only the most sophisticated recycle mills, with a considerable number of process unit operations, can use the recovered paper cup that still has the lid, stir stick, heavily printed cup, and aged and sticky remains of the beverage.