Getting paper recycling to even higher levels and improving the recyclability of paper based products – this is the main mission of the European Paper Recycling Council, an industry platform gathering associations along the paper value chain. This value chain is now further completed as EuRIC is signing the declaration on paper recycling.
EuRIC is the umbrella organisation for European Recycling Industries and represents large companies and SMEs, involved in the recycling and trade of various resource streams. ERPA, the recovered paper branch of EuRIC, represents the interests of companies involved in the collection, processing, recycling, transportation, and trade of recovered paper and has been together with Cepi a founding member of the European Recovered Paper Council, EPRC’s ancestor.
EuRIC’s membership comes at a time of Covid-19 induced restrictions on collection and sorting of paper for recycling. Suspended collections or closed sorting centres have an immediate effect on the whole value chain, due to its high level of circularity.
Angelika Christ, chairwoman of the EPRC adds, “It is critically important that collections of paper for recycling continue throughout the lock down period as their reduction could undermine the efforts done by our sector. Over the past decades, the paper value chain has gone through major efforts to achieve high recycling rates. Today, production especially of packaging papers depends largely on recycling. If this input is disrupted, supply with paper products may become very difficult.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic moved health and social preoccupations to the top of the EU agenda, the European institutions are already developing an ambitious programme for a green recovery.
In a circular economy, value chain approaches are of particular importance to find the right economic solutions. The EPRC gathers European associations from the collection to paper manufacturing and converting to discuss and provide solutions for the paper value chain. It is looking forward to supporting the European Union in the implementation of the Circular Economy Action plan and help reaching the ambitious targets set for recycling of various waste streams.
Hans van de Nes, President of ERPA is very pleased to be a part of the European Paper Recycling Council. He said,“Recovered paper is an extremely valuable resource as the current crisis further highlights. It is instrumental to strengthen the paper value chain be it in today’s difficult times as well as to achieve long term targets set by Europe’s Green Deal and further boost paper recycling in Europe. That’s why EuRIC is pleased to join the EPRC.”
