‘Tackle three big fears, paper sector told’

The recovered paper industry faces a triple challenge of export bans, more tariffs and regulatory divergence, BIR’s World Recycling Convention has heard. As a result, recyclers had to strengthen specifications and promote recyclables as essential materials.

Keynote speaker Brian Henesey, vp of Rocky Mountain Recycling in the US, told the BIR paper division at the Valencia gathering that such an approach was essential because cross-border trade pressures were putting sustainability under threat. He insisted the global recycling industry was built on interdependence.

‘We’re witnessing a steady erosion of that framework,’ Henesey warned. ‘Tariffs, export bans and nationalistic policies are challenging the very foundations of our cross-border trade.

Systemic strain

‘Our success, indeed, our entire model is built on a finely tuned web of global interdependence. For decades, the system has allowed material to flow efficiently from where it’s discarded to where it’s needed. But that system is now under growing strain and, make no mistakes, this isn’t just about economics, it’s about the long-term viability of the circular economy.’

The industry had to respond to the ‘three big fears’ of export bans, more tariffs and regulatory divergence. ‘So, what can we do? The first thing as an industry is that we need to continue to strengthen our international standards.’

He concluded the promotion of recyclables as essential materials and reinforcing the argument that recyclables are not waste were key to meeting the challenge. ‘Without our industry there is not decarbonisation, there is not circularity.’

High volatility

A European view came from Tobias Umpfenbach, director of Alba Wertstoff Management in Germany, who said the OCC market had been driven by high volatility.

‘The market is moving much faster. The volatility became much more than we have been used to from recent periods. This results in higher risk exposure for those in the market,’ he said, pointing out that price hikes and periods of extreme demand are also directly connected or followed by periods ‘where nothing is turning around’.

Umpfenbach explained how there was no ‘general’ European market because of significant differences among European countries with some importing material and others exporting. These differences also create different pricing levels, he said, which had been as much as EUR 35 per tonne.