C O V E R S T O R Y
Each year in Europe, more than 58 million tonnes of paper are collected for recy-
cling from households, commercial premises
and industrial facilities. The ‘strong growth’
in Europe’s paper recycling performance over
recent years has been the result of adopting best
practices across the continent, Ulrich Leberle of
the Confederation of European Paper Industries
(CEPI) told delegates to the latest Paper Recy-
cling Conference Europe.
The contribution of recycled fibres to the
European paper industry’s raw material mix
increased from 25 million tonnes in 1991 to
more than 47 million tonnes in 2014. Focusing
on Germany, Auke Visser from the European
Magazine Media Association reported that the
country has achieved a 72.3% recycling rate.
Other frontrunners in the paper recycling
league table are France (80%), the Netherlands
(86%) and the UK (86%).
Graphics in decline
World paper and board production totalled 403
million tonnes last year, declared David Powlson
of research firm Pöyry. Graphic papers posted a
total of 128 million tonnes and tissue some 33
million tonnes. The global graphic paper market
has already dropped around 28 million tonnes
from its 2007 peak; demand was reported to be
continuing its decline in the West while growth
has been stagnating in the developing world.
‘Growth in packaging and tissue is foreseen to
more than offset the decline in graphic papers,
enabling overall growth in the sector,’ Powlson
assured delegates. ‘We have seen solid growth
of 3% per year in tissue and packaging driven
by emerging Asia in particular.’
Indeed, the paper sector is growing overall such
that, by 2030, more than 460 million tonnes of
By Kirstin Linnenkoper
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Paper pioneers ‘navigating
towards the future’
‘Europe is the world leader when it comes to recycling paper,’ Ulrich Leberle of the
Confederation of European Paper Industries declared at the annual Paper Recycling Conference
Europe, held on this occasion in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. ‘72% of our paper is now
r ecycled. This is a huge leap from the 35% rate we achieved back in 1992.’
