Paper and board recovery rose in 2009, despite recession

Waste paper and board recovery rate continues to rise despite the recession.

The Confederation of Paper Industries preliminary data shows that last year the collection rate rose to 78% even though paper consumption in the UK diminished by 10% to a mere 11.5 million tonnes.

Because of limited domestic use, UK paper exports saw an increase of up to 90% that were using fibrous raw materials coming from recovered paper and board.

Recovered paper sector manager at CPI, Peter Seggie said that the fact that the new UK capacity is based 100% on recovered paper is “good news” for the industry.

He added: “The successful St Regis conversion of a machine to lightweight recycled packaging paper, the new Palm newsprint mill and the progress on the SAICA packaging mill all show that there is scope for a vibrant, modern paper industry in the UK where demand for paper products is much greater than that produced domestically.”

Further details on the 2009 performance of the paper industry will be available in March.