Confederation of Paper Industries

Paper and Cardboard Recycling

Recycling is an intrinsic part of the paper loop. Around 80% of UK-made paper utilises recovered paper which is by far the biggest source of recyclate from domestic waste streams.

The sale of this paper results in millions of pounds being paid to local authorities – income used to support the cost of collections. A strong domestic recycling base is needed to reprocess this constant stream of material. However, as recycling rates have increased, and the number of UK mills has fallen, the amount of recyclate exported has increased, meaning that more than half of the paper collected for recycling in the UK is now reprocessed overseas – both exposing collections to the vagaries of international markets and being a missed opportunity to add value and jobs here in the UK.

Recovered paper (used paper) is the most important raw material for the UK paper and board industry, representing over 70% of the fibre used to manufacture paper and board in the UK in 2019. This equates to 3.1 million tonnes of paper and cardboard products being collected.

Once used paper and cardboard is collected, graded, and any contaminants removed, it becomes ‘recovered paper’, the UK’s ‘Urban Forest’.