Mail article prompts Confederation of Paper Industries reaction

The newspaper article looked widely at the current difficulties in the recycling marketplace. On January 4 it reported: “The Confederation of Paper Industries described the situation as bleak. A spokesman said that demand in China for waste paper would probably not recover, adding: 'There are no obvious signs of Far East buyers returning to the market soon'.”

The CPI, which has Bob McLellan, divisional managing director of DS Smith Packaging and Corrugated Board UK, as its president, claimed today that the UK will have an extra 1.3 million tonnes of paper mill capacity over the next three years, “which will surpass what has been lost overall”.

The organisation is anxious to counter suggestions that the domestic paper industry is in decline and that it is not taking in material, which it believes was indicated in the newspaper's report.

Positive message

However, the CPI has delayed the release of a planned statement in response to the claims as it is hoping instead to get a positive message reported within the Mail on Sunday next weekend. The commingled material debate could well feature in the paper as a result, with the CPI emphasising its concerns and potentially attacking both waste management companies and councils who operate and use the commingled route, as well as materials recycling facilities. The MRF quality debate has won the support of several members of the CPI, who are also supporters of the Campaign for Real Recycling which backs kerbside sorting of material.

Speaking exclusively to letsrecycle.com, Mr McLellan said: “This is a pretty big story and there are some key messages that we would like to give. Recycling is a good thing and it must be continued. The story is not just good for cardboard but also for newsprint and tissue. By recycling we are avoiding landfill and it is also critical if you take the whole cradle to grave approach – not recycling is not a good plan.”

Commingled problem

Mr McLellan went on to say that there are “no mountains in the paper industry. There is not any difficulty in the market for corrugated case material. I have to say that the commingled waste is the problem. When you are exporting commingled waste to China then of course that is the problem.”

The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has also reacted to the Mail on Sunday article. Marcus Gover, director of market development at WRAP, said: “The growth of recycling in the UK over the last decade is a terrific success story. With almost 10m tonnes of waste recycled in the UK every year storing 100,000 or even 200,000 tonnes amounts to a small percentage of that total.”