IMPACTPapeRec is a European project aiming to boost the Circular Economy by further increasing the separate collection of Paper for Recycling (PfR) and promote appropriate schemes to avoid landfilling and incineration.
Currently, the production of paper and board in the EU stands at 91 million tonnes per year. Consumption of paper and board stands at 82 million tonnes. 58 million tonnes of PfR are collected from households, commerce, industry and offices. The paper recycling rate is therefore 71,7%. The contribution of PfR to the raw material mix of the European paper industry has increased over the last few years from 25 million tonnes in 1991 to 47 million tonnes in 2014.
However, the increase in the availability of PfR has not taken place in all EU member states, and this is especially true in Central and Eastern European countries. Moreover, the quality of the collected material does not always meet the requirements of paper recycling. Without additional measures, these two facts will make it difficult to keep up with the increases in PfR collection observed over the last few years.