Recovered paper RECYCLING RECORD
Based on data from CPI and HM Revenue & Customs, 2011 ended with a slight increase in paper and board collected for recycling in comparison with 2010, alongside a decrease in paper and board products being consumed.
UK collection of used recovered paper came in at just over 8 million tonnes, an increase of 0.4% on 2010 levels. A fall in the recovered tonnage of mixed grades and newspapers and magazines is offset by an increase in the collection of both high grades of Paper and Corrugated and Kraft, which may reflect an increase in recycling collections from commercial (offices and retail) premises across the UK.
Paper and board consumption declined by 4.2% to 10.21m tonnes.
This means the overall recycling rate has risen by 4.8% on the previous year to 78.7% - a return to 2009 levels following a fall in 2010.
2011 was a year of considerable volatility in the markets which saw prices for some grades rise by more than 50%. The UK continued to rely heavily on export markets for paper and board recycling, particularly the Far East which saw an increase of 6.1% in 2011. In 2011, 55% of the used paper and board collected in the UK was sent overseas for recycling, with 79% of exports sent to the Far East, including 62% to China alone. This is a modest increase on the 2010 numbers, which saw 78% of exports sent to the Far East, including 61% to China. The marginal change from 2010 reflected the continuing European demand for UK recovered paper and board throughout the first half of 2011.
OVERCOMING THE QUALITY CONUNDRUM
Alongside an increase in export levels, imports of recovered paper have increased by over 40% throughout 2011. Whilst the tonnages remain comparatively modest, this trend suggests that the declining access to suitable materials for recycling continues to be the key issue facing UK paper reprocessing industries.
As UK mills increasingly lose faith in the Waste Industry’s ability to supply it with material that is suitable for reprocessing, many of our leading paper producers have to actively
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engage in diversifying their operations into the fields of recovery and processing of what they see as their raw material.
Whilst CPI fully acknowledges the vital role of the global recovered paper market and the role of free trade, evidence suggests that both European and UK recovered paper exports are coming under increasing pressure from material supplied from elsewhere in the world. Coupled with China’s announcement last year of its aim to put in place a “complete and advanced” system to recycle 70% of major waste products (including paper) by 2015 - thereby shifting the focus towards domestic security of supply – UK exports may be at considerable risk. One of CPI’s core objectives for 2012 is to lobby for greater understanding by the UK Government and other key agencies of the drastic need to improve the quality of recovered paper, whether exported or reprocessed in the UK.
Regulations published in February 2011 formally enshrining the revised Waste Framework Directive (WFD) into UK law included a target to recycle, or prepare for reuse, 50% of household waste by 2020. Alongside this, the WFD details a requirement to set up “separate collections of (at least) paper, metal, plastic and glass from the household waste stream by 2015”. The Government is currently consulting on the precise interpretation of this requirement in England and Wales, the outcome of which will have a significant bearing on the quality of recovered paper in future years.
In stark contrast to the UK, a number of recently published policy and position documents at the European level are more categorical in their interpretation of “separate collections”. These include the revised European Declaration on Paper Recycling launched in October 2011, which states that “multi-material collection schemes” (co-mingled collection) where all recyclable materials are collected in one stream must not spread further in Europe and must be phased out where it already exists.”
Whilst the ‘collection debate’ looks set to continue in the UK over the coming months the bottom line remains that the quality of recovered paper will continue to be compromised unless radical steps are taken by the Government to tackle the issue. CPI intends to be a key influencer in the policy-setting process, and will seek to lobby for an effective and transparent regulatory regime devised alongside a consensus-based approach to the setting of quality standards, which fully involves UK recovered paper reprocessors.
Paper - the sustainable, renewable choice
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