The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) is criticizing a recent article published in the Daily Mail which highlights a number of issues associated with household waste. CPI says that while it agrees that action needs to be taken to improve the quality of paper and other materials collected for recycling, the recycling of valuable resources should not be discouraged.
In response to the article, CPI underscores:
•Recovered paper is the most important raw material for the paper and paperboard industry in the United Kingdom. The overall paper recycling rate in the U.K. stands at 73 percent, making it the most recycled of all household/commercial resources;
•The quality of the recovered paper used to make new paper and board can be used without further sorting if the material is segregated at the household. This will reduce the contamination inherent in the recovery process;
•While there are issues affecting how recyclables are managed following their collection, any implication that householders are being misled is counterproductive. While processing systems must be improved, households should continue to collect recyclables;
•Contamination is most common when collecting and processing material through a commingling/single stream program. The rejection level through this collection method can be as high as 10 percent;
•All successful recycling collection services require clear communication from councils to help households understand what materials can be included for recycling in their areas, and how these materials should be presented. This can help reduce the level of contaminants entering MRFs. Contrary to being an additional cost, effective communications campaigns can result in net savings by maximizing the quality of the material being collected. Government should encourage local authorities to retain budgets for recycling marketing/education campaigns;
• Further material can be rejected at the paper mills due to high levels of contamination from MRFs. It is essential for MRF to improve their performance to increase the value of the material;
