Paper Recycling - IELTS Reading Sample with Explanation

This passage is taken from recent real IELTS reading exams to help you to prepare for your IELTS test. IELTS Reading Sample – “Paper Recycling” contains key answers and explanations. This IELTS reading sample is an IELTS Academic topic and contains different types of questions.

• Matching headings
• Yes/No/Not Given
• Complete the table

There are similar topics found in IELTS reading practice papers from which candidates can prepare.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Paper Recycling IELTS Reading Sample

Paragraph A

Paper is different from other waste produce because it comes from a sustainable resource: trees. Unlike the minerals and oil used to make plastics and metals, trees are replaceable. Paper is also biodegradable, so it does not pose as much threat to the environment when it is discarded. While 45 out of every 100 tonnes of wood fibre used to make paper in Australia comes from waste paper, the rest comes directly from virgin fibre from forests and plantations. By world standards, this is a good performance since the worldwide average is 33 percent waste paper. Governments have encouraged waste paper collection and sorting schemes and at the same time, the paper industry has responded by developing new recycling technologies that have paved the way for even greater utilization of used fibre. As a result, industry’s use of recycled fibres is expected to increase at twice the rate of virgin fibre over the coming years.

Paragraph B

Already, waste paper constitutes 70% of paper used for packaging and advances in the technology required to remove ink from the paper have allowed a higher recycled content in newsprint and writing paper. To achieve the benefits of recycling, the community must also contribute. We need to accept a change in the quality of paper products; for example, stationery may be less white and of a rougher texture. There also needs to support from the community for waste paper collection programs. Not only do we need to make the paper available to collectors but it also needs to be separated into different types and sorted from contaminants such as staples, paperclips, string and other miscellaneous items.

Paragraph C

There are technical limitations to the amount of paper which can be recycled and some paper products cannot be collected for re-use. These include paper in the form of books and permanent records, photographic paper and paper which is badly contaminated. The four most common sources of paper for recycling are factories and retail stores which gather large amounts of packaging material in which goods are delivered, also offices which have unwanted business documents and computer output, paper converters and printers and lastly households which discard newspapers and packaging material. The paper manufacturer pays a price for the paper and may also incur the collection cost.

Paragraph D

Once collected, the paper has to be sorted by hand by people trained to recognize various types of paper. This is necessary because some types of paper can only be made from particular kinds of recycled fibre. The sorted paper then has to be repulped or mixed with water and broken down into its individual fibres. This mixture is called stock and may contain a wide variety of contaminating materials, particularly if it is made from mixed waste paper which has had little sorting. Various machinery are used to remove other materials from the stock. After passing through the repulping process, the fibres from printed waste paper are grey in color because the printing ink has soaked into the individual fibres. This recycled material can only be used in products where the grey colour does not matter, such as cardboard boxes but if the grey colour is not acceptable, the fibres must be de-inked. This involves adding chemicals such as caustic soda or other alkalis, soaps and detergents, water-hardening agents such as calcium chloride, frothing agents, and bleaching agents. Before the recycled fibres can be made into paper they must be refined or treated in such a way that they bond together.

Paragraph E

Most paper products must contain some virgin fibre as well as recycled fibres and unlike glass, paper cannot be recycled indefinitely. Most paper is down-cycled which means that a product made from recycled paper is of an inferior quality to the original paper. Recycling paper is beneficial in that it saves some of the energy, labor and capital that go into producing virgin pulp. However, recycling requires the use of fossil fuel, a non-renewable energy source, to collect the waste paper from the community and to process it to produce new paper. And the recycling process still creates emissions that require treatment before they can be disposed of safely. Nevertheless, paper recycling is an important economical and environmental practice but one which must be carried out in a rational and viable manner for it to be useful to both industry and the community.

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Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-5

Reading Passage has five sections, A-E

Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number i-vi in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

1. Process of Paper recycling
2. Positives and negatives of recycling paper
3. Contribution of community in reducing paper waste
4. Paper: Unlike other waste products
5. Importance of paper recycling
6. Four paper sources for recycling

Question 1.

Answer: i

Supporting sentence: Paper is different from other waste produce because it comes from a sustainable resource: trees. Unlike the minerals and oil used to make plastics and metals, trees are replaceable.

Keywords: different, unlike, sustainable resource

Keyword location: Section A, first line

Explanation: It is mentioned that paper is not like other waste products as it is derived from a sustainable resource. It is not like plastics that are derived from oils and minerals. Therefore, heading iv is appropriate for Section A.

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Question 2.

Answer: iii

Supporting sentence: To achieve the benefits of recycling, the community must also contribute. We need to accept a change in the quality of paper products; for example, stationery may be less white and of a rougher texture. There also needs to support from the community for waste paper collection programs.

Keywords: community, contribute, support, collection programs

Keyword location: Section B, third line

Explanation: The line says that in order to achieve the benefits of paper recycling, the community must also contribute by accepting a change in its quality. Therefore, heading iii is appropriate for Section B.

Question 3.

Answer: vi

Supporting sentence: The four most common sources of paper for recycling are factories and retail stores which gather large amounts of packaging material in which goods are delivered, also offices which have unwanted business documents and computer output, paper converters and printers and lastly households which discard newspapers and packaging material.

Keywords: common sources, factories, offices, printers, households

Keyword location: Section C, third line

Explanation: In section C, it is clearly mentioned that the four sources of paper for recycling are, factories, offices, printers, and households. Therefore, heading vi is appropriate for Section C.

Question 4.

Answer: i

Supporting sentence: Once collected, the paper has to be sorted by hand by people trained to recognize various types of paper. The sorted paper then has to be repulped or mixed with water and broken down into its individual fibers. After passing through the repulping process, the fibres from printed waste paper are grey in color because the printing ink has soaked into the individual fibres.

Keywords: sorted by hand, broken down, repulping process

Keyword location: Section D, 1st,3rd line

Explanation: Section D mentions how the paper is first sorted by hand, then it is mixed with water and broken down into individual fibres. Thus, heading i is appropriate for Section D.

Question 5.

Answer: ii

Supporting sentence: Most paper is down-cycled which means that a product made from recycled paper is of an inferior quality to the original paper. Recycling paper is beneficial in that it saves some of the energy, labour and capital that go into producing virgin pulp. However, recycling requires the use of fossil fuel, a non-renewable energy source

Keywords: inferior quality, saves energy, labour, fossil fuel

Keyword location: Section E, 1st,2nd,3rd line

Explanation: Section E clearly mentions how the recycled paper is of inferior quality. But it is beneficial as it saves energy, labour and capital. However, the process requires the use of fossil fuels. Therefore, heading ii is appropriate for Section E.

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Questions 6-9

Do the following statements reflect the opinion of the writer of Reading Passage?

In boxes 6-9 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement reflects the opinion of the writer
NO, if the statement contradicts the opinion of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

Question 6. The mixture of sorted paper and water is known as stock and contains a variety of contaminating materials.

Answer: Yes

Supporting sentence: The sorted paper then has to be repulped or mixed with water and broken down into its individual fibers. This mixture is called stock and may contain a wide variety of contaminating materials, particularly if it is made from mixed waste paper which has had little sorting.

Keywords: stock, contaminating materials, mixture

Keyword location: Section D, 3rd line

Explanation: This statement is correct as it is mentioned that the sorted paper is mixed with water and is known as a stock that may contain contaminated materials.

Question 7. The recycled paper can be used for all types of products.

Answer: No

Supporting sentence: This recycled material can only be used in products where the grey color does not matter, such as cardboard boxes but if the grey colour is not acceptable, the fibers must be de-inked.

Keywords: recycled paper, all types, products

Keyword location: Section D, 7th line

Explanation: This is an incorrect statement, as the recycled material can be used only for products like cardboard where the grey color does not matter.

Question 8. Every ton of paper recycled saves more than 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.

Answer: Not given

Explanation: There is no such information given in the passages.

Question 9. Not all paper products can be recycled, such as photographic paper or the one that is badly contaminated.

Answer: Yes

Supporting sentence: There are technical limitations to the amount of paper that can be recycled and some paper products cannot be collected for re-use. These include the paper in the form of books and permanent records, photographic paper, and paper which is badly contaminated.

Keywords: photographic paper, badly contaminated, paper products

Keyword location: Section C, 1st line

Explanation: The statement is correct as it is mentioned in Section C that some paper products can be collected for re-use. These include photographic paper, permanent records or badly contaminated paper.

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Questions 10-12

Complete the table given below
Choose ONE WORD from Reading Passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 10-12 on your answer sheet.

Question 10

Answer: Twice

Supporting sentence: As a result, the industry’s use of recycled fibers is expected to increase at twice the rate of virgin fiber over the coming years.

Keywords: rate, industry's use, recycled paper

Keyword location: Section A, last line

Explanation: Due to the development of new technologies, the industry's use of recycled fibres is expected to rise by twice the rate of virgin fibre.

Question 11

Answer: Stock

Supporting sentence: The sorted paper then has to be repulped or mixed with water and broken down into its individual fibers. This mixture is called stock

Keywords: mixture, sorted paper, water

Keyword location: Section D, 4th line

Explanation: The mixture of sorted paper and water is called stock that may also contain contaminated materials.

Question 12

Answer: 70%

Supporting sentence: Waste paper constitutes 70% of paper used for packaging and advances in the technology required to remove ink from the paper have allowed a higher recycled content in newsprint and writing paper

Keywords: Waste paper, constitutes

Keyword location: Section B, 1st line

Explanation: 70% of the waste paper is used for paper for packing