China targets 72.1% paper recycling rate by 2015

China – The Chinese government is planning to raise the domestic paper recycling rate from 71.5% to 72.1% by the end of the current Five-Year Plan in 2015.

The country’s annual consumption of paper and paperboard is expected to reach 114.7 million tonnes by the same year – equivalent to annual increases over the course of the Five-Year Plan of around 4.6%. Domestic paper and paperboard output could increase over the same period to 116 million tonnes, it is suggested.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has also announced that China’s papermaking industry will eliminate at least 10 million tonnes of outdated capacity over that same period. The industry faces resource, energy and environmental pressures which will require a faster restructuring of the sector, according to the ministry.