EPRC sets 74% paper recycling target for 2020

13 May 2017

The European Paper Recycling Council wants EU countries to achieve a recycling rate of 74% by 2020. The organisation points to several conditions that must be met to achieve this target.

The European Paper Recycling Council (EPRC), formerly known as European Recovered Paper Council, has announced a new recycling target. After a recycling rate of 71.5% in the European Union in 2015, the organisation now envisages a rate of 74% to be achieved by 2020.

Further steps would also be made to enhance the quality of paper recycling, said EPRC, adding that greater emphasis would be put on recyclability of paper products during the production and design process and on improving techniques for removing ink from paper products.

To achieve this goal, some conditions must be met, according to EPRC. The organisation claims that a landfill ban on recycled paper should be implemented by 2020, adding that in general, all policies that prevented paper from being recycled should be avoided. In addition, the EU should ensure that conditions were in place to allow for effective separate collection and take action against countries where commingled collection is practised, said EPRC.

The organisation furthermore points out that the growth rate of export deliveries to countries outside of the EU should not exceed the growth rate of collection volumes. Finally, the EPRC complains about the fact that member states calculate their recycling rates based on different methods and favours an aligned EU-wide method, allowing for comparable calculation.

Until recently, the European Paper Recycling Council was known as the European Recovered Paper Council. The change of name was announced on 9 April. It takes into consideration the use of the term of paper for recycling rather than recovered paper in the updated European List of Standard Grades of Paper and Board for Recycling EN 643, says the organisation.

 

Source: euwid-paper.com