The UKs newsprint manufacturers Aylesford Newsprint, Palm Paper and UPM Shotton are all thought to be this morning assessing the impact of the decision by News International to close the newspaper after this Sunday’s (July10) edition.
With an average weight per issue of 350 grammes, the papers circulation is 2.7 million copies each Sunday, meaning that each year 49,000 tonnes of newsprint is needed. To produce this tonnagefrom recovered material, about 55,000 tonnes of recovered fibre used newspapers and magazines- is used.
In recent years, News International is thought to have used a combination of UK-produced newsprint and imported material, but more recently has mainly used UK-produced supplies. It owns Newsprinters, which has three printing sites -Glasgow, Knowsley and Broxbourne.
Aylesford Newsprint in Kent and Palm Paper in Kings Lynn and UPM Shotton in North Wales are all understood to be suppliers to Newsprinters. Aylesford carries a photograph of the News of the World on its website in a montage of the products which use its paper.
And, Palm Paper has had close involvement with News International which is known to have been a keen supporter of its decision to construct its mill at Kings Lynn, Norfolk. Palm had been supplying the News International printing press at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire from Germany but changed this arrangement once the Kings Lynn plant opened at the end of 2009.
Murdoch visit
In May 2009 the new mill at Kings Lynn was visited by James Murdoch, chief executive of News Corporation, who yesterday (July7 2011) announced the closure of the News of the World.
One recovered paper buyertold letsrecycle.com that it was hard to see as yet whether the closure would impact on market prices for used newspapers. Our main concern would be whether or not people buy another paper instead of the News of the World, he commented.
Commenting on the closure, Stuart Pohler, recovered sector manager for the Confederation of Paper Industries, said: I think the situation is all up in the air at the moment with speculation that there will be a ‘Sunday Sun’ within 12 weeks. There is a general feeling that News International arent looking to reduce the newspaper arm of the business. And, if News International don’t replace the News of the World, then we would expect the majority of thereadership to opt for alternative papers.
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