Paper production: sustainable and recyclable

9. July 2025
article

Paper accompanies us in almost every area of life – whether as a book page, packaging material, notepad or toilet paper. In Germany, paper is one of the most important consumer goods, and according to the German Environment Agency, paper consumption in Germany amounted to several million tonnes in 2022. To meet the steadily growing demand, advanced processes are used because: wood becomes paper – and increasingly from recycled fibres.

But how is paper produced without placing an excessive burden on the environment? The paper recycling loop plays a key role by promoting the use of recycled wood. Find out what role modern shredding machines – such as the paper and wood shredders from ARJES – play in the recycling process and how they contribute to resource-efficient paper production.

A quick look back in history: Since when has paper existed?

The oldest finds of paper-like materials date back to ancient China. The development of a precursor to today’s paper is attributed, among others, to the imperial official Cai Lun (around 105 AD). From there, knowledge of papermaking travelled along the Silk Road to Central Asia and finally via the Middle East to medieval Europe.

The original process, in which plant fibres – especially hemp, flax or tree bark – were pulped and mixed with water into a thin, drying slurry (pulp), still forms the basis of the modern paper industry today. The key innovation was and remains the use of wood fibres. Chemical and mechanical processes can be used to obtain stable paper fibres from them. And instead of using only fresh wood, there is an increasing focus on waste paper and recycled waste wood as a source of raw materials.

What is paper made of? The basic materials at a glance

Paper consists primarily of plant fibres that are pressed into an ultra-thin layer and dried. In detail, however, other components are also important:

Fibres

Groundwood (mechanically produced), pulp (chemically produced), waste paper fibres (recycling)

Fillers

Clay minerals, chalk or kaolin to smooth or improve the surface, as well as starches or resins to increase strength

Water

Basic component of paper pulp

Chemical additives

Depending on the intended use, bleaching agents, sizing agents, dyes and much more are added

By combining these substances, you ultimately get what we know as a classic sheet of paper. Fillers and additives in particular significantly change quality, weight and strength. Compared internationally, paper manufacturers in Germany are very successful in using waste paper fibres and recycled wood to improve their environmental footprint.

How is paper made?

Traditionally, two basic approaches are distinguished in paper production when it comes to fresh wood:

Mechanical process (groundwood)

In this process, the wood is pulped directly (ground). The energy input is high, but the fibre yield remains relatively large.

Chemical process (pulp)

In this process, the wood is treated in so-called “cooking processes” with lyes and other chemicals to dissolve the lignins (wood binders). The result is a very pure fibre product called pulp.

As a rule, these processes are combined and/or waste paper is added, resulting in different types of paper.

The next step in paper production is preparing the fibre raw materials in water. This is also referred to as pulp or fibre slurry. It is fed onto an endless screen, where the water initially drains off. Further pressing and drying stages form and smooth a paper web until it reaches the desired strength. Finally, it is wound into rolls or cut into standard formats.

As more and more fibres from waste paper, cardboard and recycled waste wood are being used, waste paper processing plants have become established. Here, the used paper is softened in water (deinking) and, depending on requirements, freed from printing inks, glue, staples or other contaminants.

Turn wood waste into valuable resources: Discover ARJES recycling concepts and benefit from powerful volume reduction, efficient metal separation and user-friendly technologies. Contact us and take your recycling processes to the next level!

Fun facts about paper: Did you know…

How thick a sheet of paper is?

The thickness of standard 80 g/m² copy paper is around 0.1 millimetres. High-quality papers or cardboard can be significantly thicker.

How long a DIN A4 sheet is?

DIN A4 measures 210 mm × 297 mm. For practical reasons, in day-to-day work people often only mention the side lengths: 21 cm × 29.7 cm.

Since when paper has been available in DIN formats?

DIN formats were standardised in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century to unify production and administration.

How long an A4 sheet is if you stick them together end to end?

A little thought experiment: If you were to glue 10 A4 pages together along the long side, you would have a 2.97-metre-long paper strip – a handy trick for creative presentations!

Reuse

Whether printer paper, corrugated cardboard or hygiene paper: Germany is one of the top paper consumers worldwide. However, Germany is also at the forefront when it comes to recycling waste paper.

What role does waste wood play in modern paper production?

Traditionally, mainly fresh wood was used (around 40% of raw materials come from softwoods such as spruce or pine). Today, efforts are being made to increase the share of recycled fibres and secondary materials. Another option is processing waste wood:

Traditional paper production

Instead of sourcing only freshly felled wood from forestry operations, root wood, trunks from storm damage and industrial wood waste (e.g. offcuts from sawmills) are now also used, provided they are not chemically contaminated.

Waste wood from the construction sector

Large quantities arise here, which can often be used for thermal recovery. Wherever possible, less-treated residues should be fed into papermaking processes, provided the fibre quality is sufficient.

Wood recycling in the furniture industry

Offcuts are a valuable source of raw materials. Instead of disposing of them by incineration, the right shredding and sorting processes can make them usable for paper mills.

Why ARJES wood shredders matter

One of the biggest hurdles on the path to more recycling and environmentally friendly paper production is the nature of the input material. Wood waste is often bulky, dirty or mixed with metals (e.g. nails). This is where ARJES two-shaft shredders come into play:

Efficient volume reduction

The shredders shred bulky wood, pallets or shrub cuttings, helping to prepare the material for downstream process steps.

Magnetic separator

After shredding, metals – nails, screws or small parts – can be removed from the material flow using an overband magnet.

Customisable performance classes

For small composting facilities, the compact COMPAKTOR 300 is suitable, for example. Larger operations rely on models such as the EKOMAXX 800 or even the TITAN 900 for industrial applications with enormous throughput volumes. All shredders can also be used as stationary systems with electric drive.

ARJES focuses on robust, user-friendly systems to support a stable circular economy in the long term. The wood residues or fibrous materials can then be sent to pulp and paper mills, where they are processed into new paper. Without this important intermediate step of shredding and sorting, a lot of recycled wood would simply be too unwieldy or too heavily contaminated to be recycled materially.

Paper production in Germany: A look at the industry

Paper manufacturers in Germany are among the world leaders in terms of innovation and efficiency. Major paper groups operate modern plants in which every fibre is used optimally. At the same time, there are many medium-sized companies that focus on special grades such as recycled cardboard, thin paper or specialty papers.

High recycling rate

Germany is one of the countries with the highest return volumes of waste paper. This promotes the development of an integrated circular economy.

Diverse products

In addition to typical office papers, large quantities of hygiene papers (e.g. kitchen rolls, tissues) and packaging materials are also produced here.

Resource conservation

Thanks to strict requirements and high energy and water costs, companies are striving for ever more efficient production.

By increasingly integrating recycled wood and paper, the consumption of fresh fibres is to be reduced. This is exactly where it becomes clear how important it is to make even supposedly “worthless” wood residues usable – whether via ARJES shredding technologies or appropriate sorting systems.

Find out more about ARJES two-shaft shredders and discover how we can make wood and paper recycling efficient together. If you have any questions about our individual product types or custom solutions, we will be happy to help. Whether you operate on an industrial scale or, as a medium-sized company, want to make better use of your wood and paper waste: ARJES offers powerful, reliable and sustainable technologies to lay the foundation for future-proof paper production.