As a first stage in the process, WRAP – the Waste and Resources Action Programme, last Friday (July 20) called for companies in the paper sector interested in entering into a competitive process for the grant, to indicate the level of financial support they need to carry out investment in new capacity. WRAP will then evaluate the proposals on a “value-for–contribution” basis.
A spokesman for WRAP explained that the newsprint sector has been selected as a suitable area for grant funding as “it is currently operating at full capacity and has the potential to use substantially higher levels of waste newspapers and magazines from the domestic waste stream. It has also been identified as an area where there is scope for single investments to have a major impact on recycling performance in the UK.”
It is hoped that the initiative will enable newspaper publishers to source more recycled newsprint from within the UK and meet the targets set out in their voluntary agreement on recycled content of newsprint with the Government. Importantly, the increased demand for waste paper is expected to bring money into local authorities and so help to make the collection of other materials from households, such as glass and metal cans, more economical.
Leadership
WRAP chairman Vic Cocker said: “WRAP was set up to provide leadership in the development of sustainable waste management in the UK and this is a practical demonstration of our role which is capable of having a significant impact.”
The new capacity, which WRAP wants to come on stream during 2003, will assist the UK in meeting its commitments under the EC Landfill Directive to divert biodegradable municipal waste from landfill. It will also help local authorities to achieve their statutory recycling targets by enlarging the domestic end-use market for collected waste paper.
Welcomed
The Confederation of Paper Industries has welcomed the WRAP announcement. Its director general, Graham Barnard, said: “The UK newsprint industry already re-processes some 1.2 million tonnes of newspapers and magazines but as the UK newsprint consumption in 2000 was in excess of 2.6 million tonnes there is still room for increased collection. The technology is well established in the UK to produce newsprint from 100% recycled material.
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