Print Buying Direct

Paper Recycling legislation as it concerns the print industry – 14th January 2010

Achieving an eco label that will work throughout 12 countries is one thing. Co-ordinating waste paper legislation across Europe is another.

The pressure is building up. There is scarcely any landfill left in some parts of western Germany – in other parts there is none, and the building of new incineration systems and waste disposal sites in opposed powerfully by the public.

Green Dot

The ‘green dot’, printed on packaging is an attempt to divert some of the waste stream back into paper and board manufacture. If you are a conscientious German, rubbish is not just something to be thrown away before close inspection. If the package has a green dot, it goes into a special yellow bin, instead of into the usual black container.

Printed on 80% of all packages sold in Germany, including wine bottles, food wrappings, cans and cartons, the green dot has become the most visible sign of the ambitious German scheme which aims to sort, collected and recycle the bulk of household waste. The law, introduced in 1992, effectively coerces manufacturers into recovering and re-using the ever increasing quantities of packaging waste.

But recycling capacity is in no way sufficient to cope, leaving volumes of unwanted waste paper flooding European Markets. And what may worry UK waste merchants even more is that it has been considered by the EC as a possible blueprint for a Europe-wide packaging directive.

Eco-emballage

Other EC countries are trying to similar systems. Last September, France set up an ‘eco-emballage’ system which requires municipalities to collect packaging products already marked for sorting. So far there is little sign of enthusiasm among the French for sorting their own rubbish, but these are early days.

Eco-emballage has a target of a recycling rate of 75% by the year 2000. This compares to 80% for the German Green Dot system and 60% set by the European Commissions’ packaging waste directive.

The movement is spreading. Aiming to increase the use of recycled fibre, the Belgian Government proposed in January 1993 to introduce a broad ranging eco-tax on the sales of products ranging from batteries, disposables razors, pesticides, PVC and most paper grades. It would apply, from January 1994, to domestic production and imports of newsprint, magazine paper, corrugated case materials, carton board, tissue, copy paper and leaflet printing paper.

Belgium uses less waste paper than any other EC country – 23% in 1993. This compares with an overall average for the EC countries of over 50%.  BF10 will be charged for each kg sold of the undesignated papers unless they contain a minimum quota of recycled fibre by certain dates between 1994 to 1999. The minimum quotas range from 15% on tissue paper by (by 1997). If it can be shown that the pulp used in the manufacture of a paper grade was leached without chlorine gas, the proposed eco-tax will be reduced to BF5 per kg. Adding up to BF5, 000 per tonne, that is a considerable price incentive.

The industry has responded with howls of protest. The recycling levels are ‘arbitrary and incapable of verification’, according to Cepi, the Confederation of European Paper Industries. And the level of 50% recycled fibre for A4 copier paper is not technically possible without increasing costs and reducing quality, it says. Moreover, it is incapable of verification because it would require the calculation of material input at mill, so imports cannot be checked.

The success of these ventures will depend on the public’s response. And as a taste of what’s in store, European households could be treated to the sight of ‘Hugo the bin’ and ‘Egon the sack’, tow comic characters used on German children’s television to publicise the Green Dot.

Peter Harrison is Joint Managing Director of The Printing House Ltd,
and Print Buying Direct of Crewe, Cheshire, UK.

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For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

• Printing and Recycling- definitions and legislation
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• Print and Paper Industry Environmental Facts
• Paper for Printing – Other areas of environmental impact
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