Glossary P

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PA

Paper, all grades.

PAPERBOARD

General term for heavyweight grades of paper that are used for containers, boxes, cartons and packaging materials. It is divided into: Containerboard, Boxboard and Other Paperboard.

PAPER GRADES

Paper may be defined in terms of its use. Each grade serves a purpose, usually suggested by its grade name. Some of the most common classifications of printing papers are bond, coated, text, cover, book, offset, index, label, tag, newsprint, and writing.

PAPER SHREDDER

Machines designed for the size reduction of paper products and for destruction of confidential documents for security purposes. The most basic form of this type of machine is a strip shredder, which cuts the documents into strips. Strip shredders do not offer much security, as the resulting strips can be re-assembled with relative ease. A step above strip shredding is “cross shredding”. In essence, a cross shredding system consists of two strip shredders - one that cuts the documents in one direction, and a second strip shredder that cuts the documents in the other direction, resulting in a series of rectangular pieces. Although more secure than strip shredding, cross shredding still has its weak points. For one, the resulting pieces are still large enough for personal information to be legible - such as a bank account number. Second, cross shredding doesn’t disarrange documents as they are shredded. The most secure paper shredders, such as rotary shredders, offer ideal security in several ways. Rotary shredders disarrange material while shredding. Shred size is controlled via a screened discharge, allowing the user to pre-determine and control the size of the end result, as well as easily change the shred size. Rotary shredders also require no metering or pre-sorting, material such as metal binder rings, full bound books, etc. are easily shred without fear of damaging the cutting knives or jamming the machine. Other conventional, but outdated, typed of paper shredders include the “pierce & tear” variety, which are a variation of dual-shaft shear shredders.

PAPER STOCK

Scrap or waste papers that have been sorted and baled into specific grades. It is commonly used interchangeably with the term waste paper.

PC

Polycarbonate.

PE

Polyethylene.

PD

Plastic drums.

PERFORATOR/FLATTENER

Equipment that perforates and flattens material, then ejects it into a receptacle or processor. Used to prevent plastic bottles from expanding after flattening.

PET

See: Polyethylene terephthalate.

PG

Plate glass.

PHOTODEGRADABLE

A process where ultraviolet radiation degrades the chemical bond or link in the polymer or chemical structure of a plastic. See also: Degradability.

PL

Plastic, all grades.

PLASTIC GRINDER

Machines such as granulators used for precise size reduction of plastic materials, primarily for re-use.

PLASTIC SHREDDER

Machines designed for size reduction of various plastics.

PM

Precious metals.

POLYETHYLENE TERAPHTHALATE (PET)

A type of plastic that is clear or colored transparent with high gloss. It is used for carbonated beverage bottles and some household cleanser containers. Often referred to as No. 1 Plastic.

POLYPROPILENE (PP)

Plastic with a smooth surface that cracks easily when bent and is difficult to scratch. Typical uses are: battery cases, dairy tubs, jar lids, straws and syrup bottles. It is hard to collect in marketable quantities for recycling and has limited uses in its recycled form. Often referred to as No. 5 Plastic.

POLYSTYRENE (PS)

Plastic with a smooth surface that cracks easily when bent. Used for fast food packaging, styrofoam cups and packing peanuts, it takes up a large part of landfill space because of its bulk. Often referred to as No. 6 Plastic.

POLYVINYL CHLORIDE (PVC)

Environmentally indestructible plastic that releases toxic hydrocloric acid when burned. It is used for food wraps and containers for personal care products. Often referred to as V-3 or No. 3 Plastic.

POST CONSUMER MATERIAL

Any household or commercial product which has served its original, intended use.

POST INDUSTRIAL MATERIAL

Industrial manufacturing scrap.

PP

See: Polypropylene.

PRE-CONSUMER WASTE

Waste produced by converting or printing operations and includes any scraps, trimmings, overruns, etc.

PRECYCLE

Source reduction option whereby evaluation and selection of items for purchase is dependent upon method of manufacture, product content and recyclability of product after consumer use.

PS

See: Polystyrene.

PVC

See: Polyvinyl chloride.

PW

Papermill waste.

PYROLYSIS

A process of producing fuels from waste by heating it in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere.