Following the launch of the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) Annual Statistics for 2008 , the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) can confirm that the UK has cemented the position of its recovered paper collection to well above the CEPI average when calculated using their methodology. However a degree of caution is required as the UK is in a rather unique position in terms of its trade balance in finished paper and board products and packaged goods.

Using CPI UK mill returns and HM Revenue and Customs data, the UK recovered 8.77 million tonnes (77 percent) of the 11.44 million tonnes of unconverted paper and board products (papers for printing and conversion to finished products) consumed in the UK in 2008, well above the reported CEPI average of 67 percent. However the calculation method used by CEPI for the above figures does not take into account the UK’s net balance of trade between imports and exports in finished paper and board products (printed books, printed magazines, printed greetings cards etc) or the net balance of trade in packaging around finished goods (corrugated boxes around imported electricals and food etc). At a European level, this net trade in finished paper and board products and packaged goods is taken to be in balance. However in the case of the UK, CPI estimates that for 2008, UK imports of this type of material exceeded exports by some 1.7 million tonnes. Incorporating this additional tonnage into the calculation increases the amount available for recovery from the UK waste stream to 13.14 million tonnes and reduces the UK’s recycling rate to 67 percent, the same as the CEPI average.

The CEPI statistics also clearly show major differences between the UK and the rest of CEPI in terms of reliance on the export market for paper and board recycling. Of the material collected by CEPI countries, excluding the UK, 89 percent was recycled within Europe in 2008. For the UK, only 46 percent of the material collected in the UK was recycled in the UK; with this figure likely to fall further through 2009. UK paper mills continue to lead the way in Europe in terms of recovered paper usage against domestic production with a recovered paper utilisation rate of 80 percent against a CEPI average of just 49 percent.

There are numerous UK drivers that should continue to push paper and board recovery from the UK residual waste stream (including the new packaging strategy, the landfill tax escalator and voluntary initiatives like the “Recycle on the Go” campaign) however the actual volume recovered may decline in 2009 as the consumption of paper and board products slows in the current economic climate. These drivers however should ensure that, even with the import of many finished paper and board products into the UK, we continue to report at around the European average level.

Commenting on the figures Peter Seggie, CPI’s Recovered Paper Sector Manager, said, “These figures confirm the continued development of recovered paper collection in the UK in comparison to our European neighbours; however they need to be taken in context. The UK is in a rather unique position in Europe with increasing collections of recovered paper but a shrinking domestic recycling capacity; this means domestically we only recycle 35 percent of what we consume against a CEPI average of 55 percent. This is mainly due to the huge imbalance between UK paper and board consumption and UK production. The UK paper and board industry supplies just 35 percent of UK domestic paper and board consumption; even with a very high utilisation rate of recovered paper in domestic UK mills, they only use just under 46 percent of the total amount of material collected.”

He went on to say, “Because of growing recovery levels, 2008 saw the UK export over 54 percent of what it collected and this will be the norm until the UK increases its domestic paper recycling capacity. This current position is sustainable as long as there are expanding overseas markets (as seen with China through most of 2008). However, with poorer performing European neighbours increasing waste material recovery rates in line with EU legislation, there will be strong competition on the global market going forward."

Quelle: Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI)

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