Page 44 from: May 2015

This year’s International Recovered Paper Conference in the German capital Berlin
took place against a backdrop of difficult times

for the recovered paper industry. This became

crystal clear in the welcoming remarks of Rein-

hold Schmidt, vice-president of the German

Federal Association for Secondary Raw Mate-

rials and Waste Management (bvse).

The many difficulties and obstacles faced by

paper recyclers and traders had certainly not

diminished since the same conference in 2014.

‘On the contrary, our companies have come

under a lot of economic pressure,’ Schmidt

stressed to the bvse event. ‘There is no more

leeway left for further deterioration.’

This is particularly true for the German recov-

ered paper market where a further aggravation

has been the ‘political stalemate relating to the

so called “Wertstoffgesetz” (or Resource Act)’,

according to Schmidt, who is also chairman of

the bvse’s paper recycling division and presi-

dent of the BIR world recycling organisation’s

paper division. The German government has

been planning a law to foster the collection and

reuse of valuable materials from household

waste streams for more than five years now.

‘It appears that all parties involved are going

round and round in circles,’ Schmidt

complained. And yet it was vital for the entire

waste management sector to achieve clarity

because prevailing uncertainties surrounding

this question were paralysing the industry, it

was argued. The reluctance to invest over the

last few years was a clear indication of the need

for a reliable set of framework conditions to

boost future prospects.

No further monopolies
In this context, Schmidt welcomed the adoption

of the seventh amendment to the German Pack-

aging Ordinance. He considered this an impor-

tant first step in the right direction while making

clear that a revision must not create further

monopolies for corporate groups or municipal

authorities. ‘We want valuable secondary raw

materials to enter free competition,’ said

Schmidt. ‘Therefore, we are against both the

communal in-house tenders and exclusive access

rights of the dual systems or large corporations.’

For generations now, existing commercial collec-

tion structures for waste paper, metal scrap and

used textiles have been playing a crucial role in

amassing secondary raw materials from private

households in high quantities and to a high degree

of quality. ‘Hence, we will pay very close attention

to ensure that the new “Resource Act” does not

restrict these collection structures in any way

whatsoever,’ Schmidt promised conference dele-

gates. ‘Quite the contrary. These tried-and-tested

waste collection structures should be maintained

and developed, while the new collections of recy-

clable materials of private waste management and

recycling companies should be supported.’

New standard to fill gap
Paper recyclers are also confronted by very spe-

cific issues – not only in Germany but through-

out Europe – as a result of the new European List

of Standard Grades of Paper and Board for Recy-

cling. The revised EN 643 has clear tolerance

limits for moisture as well as for grade-specific

non-paper components and other unwanted

materials. However, objective measurement

techniques are needed – but are lacking. A second

standard is intended to fill this gap and is cur-

rently the focus for a working group of the Euro-

pean Committee for Standardization (CEN),

Barry Read from the Paper Industry Technical

Association informed the audience in Berlin.

Read, who is convenor of this working group,

called on conference delegates to provide their

feedback. ‘You can give comments via local

P A P E R By Mareike Kuhn

All the low-hanging fruit has been picked
European paper mills are hungry for recovered paper – especially

those in Germany. And since the shortfall cannot be satisfied by an

increase in local collections, the need for imports will grow in the

future, it was suggested at the bvse’s latest International Recovered

Paper Conference. It was also made clear that European paper recy-

clers will need to produce quality fibre at competitive prices if they

want to maintain their global market share. But as delegates were

told, that is easier said than done.

International Recovered Paper Conference

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