Waste Paper

For waste paper price indicators please use the drop down navigation to the right. The letsrecycle.com guide prices – in £ per tonne – are indicative of prices which may be paid for collection of material (known as ex-works) by Domestic Mills or by Exporters or Overseas Mills. We also indicate (merchant price) what a local waste paper merchant might pay or charities might receive, usually for smaller loads delivered to the merchant. A negative sign means a charge is made (potentially for mixed paper or cardboard).
Price indicators are for material ex works, usually baled or supplied to a mill specification. Price guides are compiled by letsrecycle.com and are not guaranteed. We welcome feedback, email: news@letsrecycle.com. Indicator prices are copyright.

Waste paper

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UK mills

In the UK the three main types of mills are those producing tissue products, cardboard and newsprint. There are two newsprint mills: Palm Paper in Norfolk and UPM in north Wales. Both use 100% recycled fibre, mainly newspapers and magazines. The cardboard sector includes: DS Smith with mills including Kemsley in Kent; SAICA at Partington; Smurfit Kappa with a plant in Birmingham and in Kent; and northern mills including Sonoco.

Tissue mills use recovered paper and/or virgin pulp to produce tissue. The main source of recycled material for this sector is office waste paper. Mills in this sector include SCA, Kimberly Clark and Disley.

Prices

Waste paper, or paper for recycling, price indicators shown below are for material ex works usually baled or supplied to a mill specification. Prices can vary regionally. Contractual arrangements may differ. Price guides are compiled by letsrecycle.com and are not guaranteed. letsrecycle.com started publishing export prices in 2004. We welcome feedback, email: news@letsrecycle.com.

2019 UK domestic mill £ per tonne ex works	January	February	March	April	May	June
Mixed papers	30 - 38	20 - 30	15 - 25	15 - 25	15 - 24	10 - 27
Old KLS (cardboard)	60 - 67	50 - 65	45 - 65	47 - 65	40 - 60	35 - 50
News and pams	90 - 100	90 - 100	80 - 90	77 - 85	75 - 85	72 - 80
Over-issue news	150 - 160	150 - 160	140 - 150	135 - 145	130 - 140	115 - 125
Sorted office waste	173 - 182	168 - 178	168 - 175	165 - 170	164 - 169	160 - 166
Multigrade	165 - 170	165 - 168	165 - 168	160 - 165	160 - 165	150 - 156
Light letter	180 - 185	180 - 185	180 - 185	180 - 185	180 - 185	175 - 180
White letter	235 - 250	235 - 250	235 - 250	230 - 240	230 - 240	220 - 230
-	-	-	-	-	-	-

2019 UK domestic mill £ per tonne ex works	July	August	September	October	November	December
Mixed papers	10 - 24	*10 - 25	*10 - 20	*5 - 15	*0 - 10	-
Old KLS (cardboard)	35 - 45	40 - 55	38 - 50	28 - 40	20 - 32	-
News and pams	70 - 78	65 - 75	63 - 73	63 - 73	55 - 65	-
Over-issue news	110 - 120	100 - 105	84 - 100	84 - 94	75 - 85	-
Sorted office waste	157 - 160	153 - 155	150 - 155	150 - 155	145 - 152	-
Multigrade	150 - 155	145 - 150	145 - 150	145 - 150	138 - 142	-
Light letter	170 - 175	170 - 175	165 - 170	165 - 170	160 - 165	-
White letter	218 - 220	210 - 220	195 - 205	195 - 205	185 - 195	-
-	-	-	-	-	-	*Low grade MRF mixed may attract the lower price

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