The study has the support of both the Irish government and Northern Ireland’s Department of the Environment. Both parties are funding the study which will also received cash from the waste and Resources action Programme.
A statement from the trio noted that recovery rates for paper are increasing on the island of Ireland and that at present a significant amount is exported for recycling.
The statement added: “There is a need to consider how an island-wide strategic approach to market development for recyclable materials can be developed. If a viable option can be identified, this would provide stable domestic recycling capacity and produce new, recycled paper products for the domestic market.”
Cardboard or tissue?
A WRAP spokeswoman told letsrecycle.com that the study was a first stage project and if it was decided that a plant would not be feasible, there would be no further work. Whether the mill would produce cardboard or tissue is not clear.
Sources in Ireland said that there have been rumours about a new mill on the island for many years. “Sometimes we hear that a board mill will be built and a tissue company was also looking at opportunities a few years ago,” was one comment.
A merchant source questioned the feasibility of a mill. “We have a good export market, Ireland is only in population terms the size of Greater Manchester and there are plentiful supplies of paper available at low prices for the public and businesses.”
Currently there are two reprocessing facilities on the island of Ireland. In the North, in Lurgan, there is a pulp plant making material suitable for products such as egg boxes. In the South in Dublin there is a board mill run by Smurfit although this is only a small mill and the site is not believed to be suitable for expansion.
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