The chemical bisphenol A: That's why receipts don't belong in the waste paper, but in the residual waste.
The production of receipts containing bisphenol A will be banned from January 2020, but remaining stocks may still be used up. Would you have known? If you've been wondering for a long time what category of waste receipts actually belong to, then you now know. The answer is: with residual waste!
Newspapers and cardboard boxes belong in the waste paper, that is clear. But what about receipts, posters or old tickets? #Recycling #Resources #Wastepaper #Environment #Sustainability #Waste #Paper https://t.co/J8cn1fiJGp pic.twitter.com/RaJiPhQ290
— Federal Environment Agency (@Umweltbundesamt) January 2, 2018
We explain to you why:
The receipt often ends up in the paper trash. After all, a receipt is made of paper and is therefore part of the waste paper – or is it?
No, because the material is crucial. Whether the printed piece of paper has to go into the waste paper or residual waste depends on what it is made of. Most receipts are made from so-called thermal paper and this belongs in the trash.
But how do I recognize thermal paper? If you scratch the paper with your fingernail and dark streaks appear, you are dealing with thermal paper - assuming there was no dirt from your nail.
It is also easy to explain why thermal paper is not disposed of with waste paper but with residual waste: the paper is coated with a chemical called bisphenol A.
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If receipts containing bisphenol A end up in waste paper, the substance can enter the environment via recycled paper products such as toilet paper, according to the Federal Environment Agency. Bisphenol A has a hormonal effect and can impair the reproductive ability of living beings. Studies show that the substance damages the reproduction and development of fish and amphibians.
As a “substance of very high concern,” bisphenol A will be banned as a coating on thermal paper from 2020 to protect human health. This will hopefully also reduce emissions into the environment.
You can find more information on this topic here and here .
You might also be interested in: Annual review 2019: Do not wash jeans in the washing machine. The fact check.
Article image: Shutterstock / By Haelen Haagen
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