Abstract
Aim of study: The purpose of this study is to analyze how paper recycling activities in Europe can be extended through different improvements along the paper value chain. The importance of this study lies in the identification of the present barriers in paper recycling and how they can be overcome.Area of study: Europe.Material and Methods: All the main stages along the paper value chain have been analyzed for possible improvements: collection of recovered paper (availability and quality), sorting of recovered paper, paper production, and printing and converting activities.Main results: To increase paper recycling in Europe the following improvements are necessary. First, it is mandatory to increase the availability of recovered paper through more efficient collection systems (avoiding the use of commingled collection systems) and limiting the competition with energy purposes and the exports. Second, it is necessary to extend sorting activities, which can be achieved by reducing sorting costs by the use of automatized sorting systems. Third, there is a need to increase the recyclability of paper products by the commitment of printing and converting industries to use recycling-friendly printing inks and adhesives. Finally, environmental awareness of the citizens is still an important driver for increasing recycling activities, affecting not only recovery but to all the stages along the paper recycling chain.Research highlights: Although the recycling rate in Europe is already very high (68.9%), there is still room to further extend paper recycling activities through different improvements along the paper value chain.Keywords: paper recycling; sustainability; paper value chain; recovered paper; environmental awareness.
Highlights
Papermaking is one of the oldest and leading recycling industries
As occurs with other factors affecting the quality of the recovered paper, and especially with stickies, one of the main problems that hold back the development of adhesive less detrimental to paper recycling is certainly the difficulty to evaluate the real behavior of a given adhesive product in a recycling line (Delagoutte, 2005; European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC), 2011b)
Great efforts have been carried out by the European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC) together with INGEDE and its research partners, and two schemes for measuring deinkability and removability of adhesive have been adopted to promote the eco-design of products
Summary
Papermaking is one of the oldest and leading recycling industries. The traditional driver to increase paper recycling has been economic, but at present, environmental and ecological concerns are important. This sector has become an example of sustainability. The recovery and utilization of recovered paper in the paper and board industry has increased throughout the world, i.e. recovered paper demand increased from around 90 million tons in 1990 to around 220 million tons in 2011 (RISI, 2012). Europe is leading paper recycling, with a 68.9% recycling rate (recovered paper utilization plus net trade, compared to paper and board consumption)
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