The diagram illustrates the eight-stage process through which discarded paper is recycled and converted into new paper products.

Overall, the procedure is linear and can be divided into three broad phases: the collection and classification of waste paper, its transformation into clean pulp, and the subsequent production of finished paper. While the initial stages mainly involve transportation and sorting, the later stages rely on mechanical processing to reshape the recovered material.

At the outset, used paper is collected and transported by truck to a recycling centre, where it is sorted into categories such as newspapers, office paper and cardboard. Once separated, the paper is shredded into small pieces and combined with water, producing a pulp-like mixture. This material then undergoes a purification stage, during which ink and other impurities are removed.

Following this, the cleaned pulp is fed into a machine and compressed into thin sheets. These sheets are subsequently dried and passed through a series of rollers, resulting in continuous lengths of recycled paper. In the final stage, the paper is cut into the required dimensions and packaged, after which it is ready to be manufactured into products such as sheets of writing paper and notebooks.

Vocabulary to highlight

• through which — useful for explaining how a process happens
• discarded paper — paper that has been thrown away
• converted into — changed into another form
• can be divided into three broad phases — can be grouped into three main parts
• classification of waste paper — sorting used paper into categories
• transformation into clean pulp — changing the material into purified pulp
• subsequent production — production that happens afterwards
• at the outset — at the beginning of the process
• is sorted into categories — is separated according to type
• once separated — after the sorting stage
• producing a pulp-like mixture — resulting in a wet, soft material
• undergoes a purification stage — passes through a cleaning process
• impurities are removed — unwanted substances are taken out
• is fed into a machine — is put into machinery for processing
• compressed into thin sheets — pressed and flattened
• subsequently dried — dried afterwards
• passed through a series of rollers — moved through several rotating cylinders
• resulting in — producing something as a consequence
• cut into the required dimensions — cut to the necessary size
• after which — following that stage
• ready to be manufactured into — prepared for conversion into final products