Page 31 from: What’s inside?

CONFERENCE REPORT

31recyclinginternational.com | May/June | 2024

Paper recyclers hopeful
but braced for new storm

Less recovered paper was collected for recycling in 2023 while imports and exports were both ‘shaky’,

according to Werner Steingass, vice president of Germany’s Federal Association for Secondary Raw

Materials and Waste Management (bvse). More ‘turbulence’ is likely, he told delegates at the paper

division’s recent annual meeting in Berlin.

the ongoing global crisis. A ‘shrunken’
gross domestic product, fewer invest-
ments in the sector and rising freight
rates were heaped on the low volume
of paper scrap traded and low prices.
‘This was the general trend, not just in
our nation but also in neighbouring
countries,’ bvse vice president Werner

Steingass acknowledged. Across
Europe, collection volumes fell while
exports and imports fluctuated.
Steingass reported that even China’s
paper market was not spared and
business remained ‘weak’. China’s
close ties with its neighbouring coun-
tries muted momentum for recycling

markets across Southeast Asia, notably
India. Exports from China to Vietnam
and Thailand increased considerably in
2023. Exports from Europe to the
region also grew with India, Malaysia,
Vietnam and Thailand the top destina-
tions. Throughout 2023, global
demand was up and down, described

as patchy at best. The ongoing rise in
e-commerce, meanwhile, means a
growing appetite for cardboard.
Compared to other sectors, paper
recycling wasn’t hit as hard. ‘The
German paper scrap market value was
down by less than 5%,’ said Steingass.
‘Considering the cards we’ve been
dealt, that’s not too bad.’

MANY DISTRACTIONS
Recyclers face many and large obsta-
cles with little government support, he
told delegates in Berlin. ‘Politicians are
distracted by events sparking global
uncertainty. They are focussing first
and foremost on establishing peace
and boosting consumerism across
practically all markets.
‘It doesn’t help our industry that the
German government has failed to out-
line a long-term vision for secondary
raw materials, both financially and in
terms of policy. As a result, large cor-
porations and investors are avoiding
doing business with Germany. Our
business climate simply isn’t attractive
enough.’
Being neither heard nor seen by poli-
cymakers builds resentment, observed
bvse executive director Eric Rehbock.
‘There is so much talk about sustain-
ability. The question is: who is enjoying
most of the attention? It’s not the
mechanical recyclers, is it?
‘Quite simply, most headlines are
about wind energy, electric cars and
cutting emissions. And let’s not forget
about microplastics and pyrolysis,’
Rehbock quipped.
In a world already full of rules, he cau-
tioned, ever stricter ones were being
added every day. Keeping up with
them is practically impossible for
medium-sized recyclers, let alone
small, local players. ‘Do politicians
realise this?’ he wondered.
‘Let’s not lose sight of who is at the
core of sustainability: it’s us. So when
do we get better conditions, rules that

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