The accusation came from the Confederation of Paper Industries, which said this week that data from HM Revenue and Customs on the amount of paper packaging waste exported abroad for recycling did not match Defra data.
” CPI has been aware of the apparent discrepancies of declaration data against available data for a number of years “
– Peter Seggie, CPI
The CPI, which represents UK mills, suggested that the apparent gaps in the data resulted from “significant over-declarations within the export side of the system”.
In essence the CPI is saying that not all recorded tonnages of used cardboard sent overseas to countries such as China are legitimate. Industry sources say that this could be because containers are not properly filled when they leave the UK or alternatively false evidence is being generated somewhere along the recycling chain or by the receiving mill.
“Over-declaration”
The CPI said the over-declaration of exported UK paper packaging waste appeared to be in excess of 200,000 tonnes (22%) above the level it should have been. This was calculated from CPI mill returns and HM Revenue and Customs information, and compared against new data issued by Defra earlier this month (see letsrecycle.com story).
It suggested the situation could even threaten the future of the paper PRN/PERN market – the market for evidence of packaging recovery bought by producers from reprocessors to demonstrate producer responsibility.
By over-stating how much packaging material is recovered, it would be possible for an accredited reprocessor or exporter to secure more producer responsibility revenue than they are legally entitled to. This means they could sell extra PRNs, which should not have been put on the market.
Investigation
Peter Seggie, the CPI's recovered paper sector manager, said: “CPI has been aware of the apparent discrepancies of declaration data against available data for a number of years and has asked Defra to look at the situation in detail.”
Defra has been carrying out a fact-finding investigation into the issuing of inappropriate PRNs – commonly seen as potential fraud – in the paper packaging recovery sector since June 2005 (see letsrecycle.com story) , but has still not reported back.
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Commenting on this, the CPI said: “The excessive time delay of this investigation leads CPI to reluctantly conclude that government is showing little resolve in tackling the problems.”
Mr Seggie said: “Depending on which data set you look at, the UK is now dependent on export reprocessors for between 37% and 42% of its packaging waste obligation and this is rising continually. Quarter 4 of 2005 suggests the reliance on export markets is now between 41% and 47%. CPI awaits the findings of the paper packaging fact-finding mission with interest.”
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