If you plan to get rid of your paper or cardboard waste by using combustion, there are more reasons to shelve this unhealthy idea than to implement it. Meanwhile, incinerating waste such as paper generates other waste: fumes containing fly ash and gases are an example. These are substances that are dangerous for the surrounding environment, as well as for our lungs. In fact, with this method of disposal, poisonous combustion gases are produced depending on the type of waste and the conditions in which it is burned: in addition to carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur anhydrite, gaseous hydrochloric acid, formaldehyde, heavy metals as well as dioxins and furans are found among the combustion gases.
The illegal combustion of waste allows these gases to be released without being filtered. They therefore pollute the air we breathe and the surrounding environment to a significantly serious extent. The dioxins that are produced by the burning of waste in the open air are deposited on the surrounding plants: leafy vegetables are particularly affected by this practice, whose large leaf surface determines the absorption of these harmful substances. With food, the poison finally reaches the body of humans and animals, especially livestock, triggering a “poisonous circle”.
If this were not enough to abandon the idea of such an unhealthy practice, we remind you that burning waste is a criminally sanctioned crime (art. 256 of Legislative Decree 152/06), and that with law no. 6 of 6/02/2014 the crime of “illegal combustion of waste” was introduced art. 256-bis of Legislative Decree 152/06. Those who burn waste abandoned or deposited in unauthorized areas are punished with imprisonment of up to 5 years. In addition, the means of transport used to commit the crime is also confiscated.
>> Scopri come Eurocorporation aiuta le aziende nella corretta gestione della carta e del cartone
A sentence relating to a company owner who, behind the main building of his business, burned a pile of waste consisting of various paper material and glossy newspapers, established that “the illegal combustion of waste committed in the exercise of the business activity triggers the aggravating circumstance of paragraph 3 of art. 256 bis of Legislative Decree 152/2006 which expressly provides for the applicability of the disqualification sanctions referred to in art. 9 of Legislative Decree 231/2001.”
It is therefore better to avoid these illegal practices. For proper management of paper waste, it is necessary to reuse and differentiate paper, thus having the possibility of recycling a substantial part of it: these represent, to date, the only ways to “enhance” this waste, also with a view to company savings. However, when large quantities of paper and cardboard are consumed, it is not always easy to identify the right place for this waste in separate collection: in fact, some can be misleading.
Receipts, for example, should never be thrown in the paper, because they are made with thermal paper that generates problems in recycling. Or again, certain supports for professional printing (such as photographic paper), are subject to particular forms of disposal unlike normal paper. Conversely, a wide variety of paper and cardboard derived from natural cellulose can be easily taken back and recycled. While cardboard packaging with food residues cannot be thrown into the normal separate paper collection, because it creates problems in the recycling process. It should also be emphasized that there is also paper that is difficult or even non-recyclable, such as paper handkerchiefs, wax paper and paper soiled with poisonous substances, such as paints or solvents.
It is therefore better to rely on professionals, whether it is to separate waste or for pulping, which involves great energy, water, timber and even economic savings compared to the destruction of paper through incineration. Companies that focus on the selection and recovery of collected materials achieve the double result of reducing the amount of waste to be disposed of and increasing added value.
The disposal of waste paper and recycling are the activities that over the years have allowed Eurocorporation to grow and specialize in this sector with an annual average of 950 tons of paper withdrawn and 21.5 million new reams of paper produced. The collection of waste paper is organized systematically and according to the specific needs of the customer, with state-of-the-art equipment and always in step with the new rules. Eurocorporation provides a complete service dedicated to companies, public bodies, but also to large-scale distribution centers that need to dispose of large quantities of paper and cardboard.
