Waste Paper Grades Guide
All Grades Explained

How Waste Paper Grades Work

Waste paper is not a single commodity — it is a family of grades, each with distinct fibre content, colour, quality, and end-use application. Grades are defined internationally by ISRI (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries) and supplemented by regional standards (PITA in Europe, BIR globally).

When a paper mill buys waste paper, it specifies an exact grade because the fibre properties directly affect what it can produce. A corrugated board mill needs brown OCC fibre. A deinking mill needs white SWL or SOP. A speciality mill may need BBC Foil or Polycup.

Category 1 — Brown Grades

Brown grades consist of corrugated and kraft fibre. They are the highest-volume waste paper category globally, driven by the enormous amount of corrugated packaging used in retail, e-commerce, and logistics.

Grade	Source Material	Key Spec	End Use
OCC 11	Used corrugated boxes	Moisture <12%, Outthrow <3%	Corrugated board, linerboard
Premium OCC	Clean corrugated, lower contamination	Moisture <10%, Outthrow <1%	Top-tier board mills
B Grade OCC	Lower-grade corrugated mix	Higher contamination allowed	Lower-end board mills
Black OCC	Dark / dyed corrugated	Dark coloured fibres	Speciality board applications
NCC	New corrugated cuttings (mill offcuts)	Clean, unprinted	High-quality linerboard
Industrial Mix	Mixed industrial paper & board	Varied contamination	Low-end board / medium

Category 2 — White Grades

White grades contain long, bright fibres from office paper, printing paper, and coated stocks. They are used by deinking mills to produce tissue, white printing paper, and writing grades. White grades command a premium over brown grades.

Grade	Source Material	Key Spec	End Use
SWL	White ledger / office paper	Brightness 85%+, Moisture <10%	Tissue, writing paper, deinking
SOP	Sorted office paper mix	Brightness 75%+	Deinking mills, tissue
ONP	Old newspapers	Newsprint fibre, low brightness	Newsprint recycling
OMG / Magazine	Old magazines, coated paper	Coated fibre, high filler	Newsprint, deinking
POC	Printed office cuttings	High brightness, clean	Tissue, writing grades
New School Books	Unread / surplus school books	Very clean white fibre	High-quality white grades
Books with Cover	Used books including covers	Mixed — some board content	Mixed furnish mills
Envelope Cuttings	White envelope offcuts	Clean white fibre	Writing, tissue grades

Category 3 — Speciality Grades

Speciality grades are composite materials — paper with coatings, laminates, or combined with plastic or metal films. They are used in specific applications and traded in lower volumes than brown or white grades.

Grade	Composition	Key Spec	End Use
BBC Foil	Paper + aluminium foil laminate	High aluminium content	Fibre & metal recovery
BBC Alu	Paper + aluminium (higher alu %)	Higher foil ratio than BBC Foil	Aluminium + fibre recovery
Scan Foil	Scanned / sorted foil paper	Sorted, lower plastic	Speciality mills
Grey BBC	Grey-tinted board + foil mix	Mixed composition	Board & material recovery
Poly Scan BBC	Paper + plastic poly-coated	Poly film contamination allowed	Energy recovery or speciality
Polycup	Plastic-coated paper cups	PE coating on fibre	Fibre & PE recovery
Tetra Pak	Aseptic cartons (paper+alu+PE)	Tri-layer composite	Fibre, aluminium & PE recovery
Duplex Cutting	Duplex board offcuts	Grey back, white top	Duplex board mills
Scan Board	Sorted solid board	Clean board, low contamination	Board mills
Grey Board	Solid grey chipboard	High bulk board fibre	Chipboard, packaging board
Core Foil	Foil roll cores	Dense kraft cores	Core & tube mills
Core Pipe	Industrial roll cores & tubes	Heavy kraft wound cores	Core tube mills
Fibre Cores	General paper / textile cores	Mixed core sizes	Core tube mills
Textile Cores	Cores from textile mills	Cotton / synthetic winding cores	Core tube mills
Tissue	Used tissue / facial products	Very low fibre value	Limited — selected applications
Tissue with Core	Tissue + inner cardboard core	Mixed core and tissue	Core recovery mills
Shopping Bags	Paper shopping bags	Kraft or white fibre bags	Kraft or white mills
Scratch Cards	Paper scratch lottery cards	Coated, printed	Speciality fibre recovery
Tobacco Cartons	Cigarette & tobacco packaging board	Printed board, coated	Board mills with deink
Used Sackkraft	Used industrial kraft sacks	Strong long-fibre kraft	Sack paper mills

How to Specify a Grade Correctly

When ordering waste paper, always specify:

• Grade name and ISRI code — e.g. "OCC 11" not just "OCC"
• Moisture limit — maximum acceptable moisture percentage
• Outthrow / contamination limit — maximum non-fibre content
• Bale weight range — acceptable bale weight in kg or MT
• Origin preference — if relevant to your process (some mills prefer specific source countries)
• Volume and frequency — FCL per month helps suppliers plan allocation