The figures point to a sharp fall in the use of recovered (commonly known as waste) paper by UK manufacturers, down by 8.2% compared to the previous year. This drop was even worse than the overall slump in UK paper production which was down by 7.5%.
Mill closures were largely to blame for the downturn of fortunes within the recycled sector in the wake of higher energy costs and strong competition from the import market.
In the wake of the data, the Confederation of Paper Industries recovered paper sector division has reiterated the importance of the export market, including China.
” This is a reflection of the investment that hasn't been made in the UK “
– Ken Stevens, president CPI reocovered paper sector
Paper industry experts now point to the fact that the UK has lost about 200,000 tonnes of manufacturing capacity a year since 1998, some 1.9 million tonnes since 1998. As a consequence, the export market has become vitally important for collectors of used paper, such as newspapers and Old-Kls (cardboard).
Ken Stevens, president of the CPI's recovered paper division and managing director of SCA Recycling, said: “We are still seeing an increase in the collection of recovered paper albeit that the rate has slowed. There is a decline in the use of recovered material, the rate of decline for the UK was 8% and this compares to an increase in exports of recoverd material of 20%.
Investment
Mr Stevens added: “This is a reflection of the investment that hasn't been made in the UK. Without investment in the UK and despite the apparent concerns of the public and many people about exports to China, that market now represents 60% of our exports.
“It is critically important to the sustainability of collection rates and if we are going to increase collection we need these export markets.”
The largest reductions in terms of type of recovered material used in the UK was for mixed grades and cardboard. Mixed consumption was down 15.8% while cardboard was down 10.2%.
Wrappings
Closures of mills were the reasons for this fall while a machine closure at Abitibi-Consolidated's Ellesmere Port mill brought usage of used newspapers down by 5.1% to 1.46 million tonnes in the UK.
The closure of the Smith Anderson mill at Fettykill hit the wrappings sector which showed the sharpest fall in overall production terms. In the UK sector, the only bright spot was a stable performance in the sanitary and household grades which performed largely in line with 2005 figures at 806,217. However, most of this production is thought to use virgin fibre.
Newsprint
One other aspect of note from the data is the fact that UK newsprint mills – Abitibi- Consolidated, Aylesford and Shotton – are between them holding far less stock than they have in the past. In December they held a massive 61.5% less in tonnage terms for recycling than a year earlier.
It is thought that with the higher prices currently being paid for used newspapers and magazines, the mills are either selling used material on the export market themselves and are also finding it harder to source stock in the face of stiff competition from the export market.
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