After a big jump in 2001 (+2.3%-points compared to 2000), Europe's paper recycling rate reached 52.7% in 2002 (+0.6%-points). It therefore continued to develop in a positive way but at a lower pace, due to particular market developments. Both collection and utilisation of recovered paper increased to respectively 45.7 (+2.5% compared to 2001) and 43.1 (+2.3% compared to 2001) million tonnes.

2002, which continued the steady increase in the use of recovered paper, was not entirely without new developments: the share of recovered paper in the European paper industry's raw material consumption remained stable as opposed to the previous year's increase. Market developments explain this situation. Newsprint production decreased while production of other graphic papers increased. Furthermore, recovered paper prices peaked in the summer of 2002 and in many cases more than doubled. "In addition", explains Ulf Frolander, European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC)'s Chairman, "due to the strong demand outside Europe (mainly Asia), recovered paper net exports went up (+7.4%). These show the importance of the global market developments and the implications this might have on paper recycling in Europe".

As the recycling rate increases, further increments will become more difficult. Our knowledge on the potential of recovered paper collection has been improved through a study on non-collectable/non-recyclable paper products: 19% of paper products put on the market cannot be collected or recycled due to technical reasons or because of their use in permanent applications (e.g. cigarette paper, tissue paper, archives, etc). "Taking this into account, we see that the maximum collection rate would not be 100%, but rather 81%, or even less. This effectively reveals the true potential of paper recycling in Europe", Ulf Frolander continues.

The role of legislation and policies in this context gains more and more importance, and the industry has high expectations with regard to the Thematic Strategy on Prevention and Recycling of Waste that is currently under preparation by the European Commission. "A continuous increase in paper recycling is a true demonstration of a right approach to sustainable development where the environmental, social and economic pillars are taken into account in a balanced way", says Kim Holmstrom from the Enterprise Directorate General of the European Commission, who sits in on ERPC meetings as an observer.

The European Declaration on Paper Recovery - a voluntary measure - does indeed contribute to the targets of the Thematic Strategies, as well as to the Community's overall target: sustainable development. The industry would like the European Commission to recognise the importance of voluntary measures when drafting its Thematic Strategies, in the hope that they will result in a supportive and stable framework, which is necessary if paper recycling is to continue to increase in Europe.

The European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC)

The European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC) was set up after the launch of The European Declaration on Paper Recovery in November 2000 with the aim to monitor the progress made towards meeting the targets set out in the European Declaration.

In the Declaration the industry pledges to take actions to further improve its environmental performance and increase the recycling rate to 56% by 2005. This increase means that the industry should recycle an additional 10 million tonnes of recovered paper.

The ERPC consists of the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI - SPPaC is a member), the European Recovered Paper Association (ERPA) and the European Federation of Corrugated Manufacturers (FEFCO - SVVL is a member) as its Signatories. In addition it also has Supporters, which include the European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD), the European Paper Merchants Association (EUGROPA) and the International Confederation for Printing and Allied Industries (INTERGRAF) as well as the European Commission Directorates General Enterprise and Environment, who act as Observers.

The ERPC monitors the progress of the Declaration openly and transparently and co-ordinates the joint work to achieve the set targets. The 2002 Annual Report was launched on October 1, 2003 and is available at SPPaC office.