The UK’s recycling rate for paper increased in 2011 to 78.7 per cent, a rise of over five per cent on the previous year.
Announcing the figures, the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) noted that the scale of the increase needed to be understood in the context of demand for paper products and supply of recovered fibre. Commenting on behalf of CPI, Stuart Pohler, Recovered Paper Sector Manager, said: “Whilst the increase in the recycling rate is welcomed in principle, it is important to qualify the apparent performance improvement. UK collection of used recovered paper in 2011 was just over eight million tonnes – an increase of 0.4 per cent on 2010 – whereas consumption of paper and board products which entered the UK waste stream reduced by 4.2 per cent compared to 2010.” While the principal reason behind the fall in supply of recovered fibre has been the economic downturn, changes in technology, notably the increased use of tablets and PCs, is widely perceived to be having an impact.
The CPI itself acknowledges that its headline figure of 78.7 per cent recycling is likely to be overstated, as currently there is no effective measure for the amount of paper packaging that enters the UK with imports.
Speaking to Resource, Pohler stated that although imports increase the amount of recovered fibre potentially available, the fall in consumption is an ongoing challenge for the industry: “In terms of quality, when there is a fall in consumption, a marginal increase in recycling puts pressure on sources for finding paper, and quality might be compromised.”
Acknowledging the problem of variable quality, Pohler believes that a new approach might be needed to evaluate recycling. “Traditionally, recycling performance in the UK has been measured in terms of tonnage of material. However – and whether for paper or other recyclable materials – using waste tonnage as a basis for measuring progress does not always promote waste prevention, reduction and reuse,” he said. “There is currently no recognised mechanism to subtract the weight of contaminants that are disposed of by reprocessors from WasteDataFlow figures. In other words, these materials that were intended for recycling but are actually sent to landfill are quite legitimately counted as having been recycled. A more robust mechanism is required to feed the resulting landfill figures generated by poor sorting of recyclables back into local authority recycling rates.”
Pohler feels that the aim of developing a ‘recycling society’ set out in the European Commission’s revised Waste Framework Directive would be helped by “further research into the viability of the UK-wide adoption of a ‘carbon metric’ model”.
He added: “Government should also promote the use of lifecycle thinking in all waste policy and waste management decisions and the reporting of waste management in carbon terms, as an alternative to weight-based measures, in order to highlight the relative merits of different waste management options and support the aspiration for greater ‘closed-loop’ recycling.”
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.