In a paper market situation report published last week, the Defra-funded body reiterated its preference for kerbside sort ahead of commingled collection of recyclables, unless anything except single-stream commingled was “impractical”.
The assertion, which reinforces the conclusions of its June 2009 collection report (see letsrecycle.com story), comes as material quality emerged as one the key topics for discussion at the event being held by WRAP in Southwark, London next Tuesday (February 23).
An agenda for the private 'From recession to recovery: WRAP explores the changing global markets for recovered paper and plastics' summit, also reveals a focus on what the organisation claims is the “new balance of risks and opportunities” created after materials markets crashed in 2008.
In particular, the event is set to involve discussions on WRAP's work on the Chinese markets for paper and plastics – which involved a survey published last year (see letsrecycle.com story) – and a look at the India and Indonesian paper markets.
Emphasising the event's focus on risk in the market at the moment, there are also scheduled discussions on “the current trends and risks and opportunities for UK material internationally, and the reliance on export markets”.
The importance of export markets for UK recovered paper is highlighted in the WRAP paper market report, which notes that 55% of paper collected in the UK is sent overseas for reprocessing, and to China, India and Indonesia in particular.
The report also notes that China is particularly important for OCC, with 80% of material from the UK being exported to the Asian nation, but it also sounds a note of caution, claiming that “dependence” is a “potential source of vulnerability”.
Demand
However, one recovered paper exporter told letsrecycle.com that Chinese demand for material was already strong, and looked set to improve further in the future.
Paul Briggs, a director at Mark Lyndon Paper Enterprises, the UK buying agent for Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing in China, said: “Demand in China is still strong, China is still growing at a phenomenal rate and I don't see that changing in my lifetime.”
Both Lee and Man and American Chung Nam – the two major companies taking paper from the UK into China – are understood to be increasing their reprocessing capacities this year, with Lee and Man expected to add one million tonnes in annual capacity at its Chinese mills.
Despite this, Mr Briggs echoed WRAP's emphasis on quality, warning that the UK could jeopardise its “world reputation” for good quality OCC if trends towards including mixed fibres in the material continued.
“The UK has a world reputation for being good quality OCC, but while trade waste paper merchants have continued to offer that, some waste disposal companies and MRFs have lower quality,” he said.
WRAP too noted that, with more stringent enforcement of quality standards in China and elsewhere, it was “important that the UK's recovered fibre can meet these more demanding quality requirements”.
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