It is thought that the signing took place last week but details only emerged yesterday via the Welsh Assembly, which said the contract was “very good news for Shotton Paper Company and for the North Wales economy generally.”
Wales' First Minister Rhodri Morgan, said the contract will help fund a major new 127 million paper recycling plant “that will not only help secure jobs in North Wales, but also complement the Welsh Assembly Government's new waste strategy.” Mr Morgan's delight is in contrast to disappointment in Kent following WRAP's decision earlier this year to switch preferred bidder status from Aylesford Newsprint to Shotton.
Change of name
Today (March 8) WRAP followed the Welsh announcement and said the project had been confirmed. Its statement, which also revealed a change of name for Shotton, stated: “A major investment in the UK’s newsprint recycling infrastructure was confirmed today when the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) announced the signing of a contract between its Environmental Body, WREB, and UPM-Kymmene (UK) Ltd (previously Shotton Paper Company) agreeing the provision of capital funding for new waste paper reprocessing capacity at the Shotton site in Deeside, North Wales. The new capacity will allow waste newspaper and magazines to be collected from up to four million additional households in Wales, Scotland and the North West of England.”
At present there appears to be some confusion over the value of the project. Both WRAP and the Welsh Assembly put the value of the project at 127 million whereas UPM-Kymmene – Shotton's parent company – puts the value much lower at 127 million Euros (79 million).
WRAP chairman Vic Cocker said the project would go a long way towards achieving WRAP’s aim of stimulating a 500,000 tonne a year increase in newspaper recycling.
The overall budget for the project is expected to reach 127m and will include the new de-inking capacity together with upgrades to the existing plant at the Shotton site. WRAP’s contribution will depend on the actual costs, up to a maximum of 23m, with the remaining investment coming from UPM-Kymmene (UK) Ltd.
Commissioned
The new facility will be commissioned by the end of September 2003, with full capacity due to be reached by April 2004. It will divert an additional 320,000 tonnes per annum of recovered newspapers and magazines from the municipal waste stream, boosting the total quantity of recovered fibre used at Shotton to 620,000 tonnes per annum. This additional reprocessing capacity will provide essential support to local authorities looking to achieve statutory recycling targets by introducing or expanding newsprint collection schemes.
“As part of the procurement strategy to source recovered material, we are already seeking long term contract agreements with local authorities, concentrating particularly on areas where levels of paper recovery are currently low,” said Martin Gale, managing director of UPM-Kymmene (UK) Ltd. “This supports the objectives of the waste strategies in Wales, Scotland and England, and, in the wider context, the requirement for a more sustainable approach to waste and resource management.”
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