BIR Autumn Roundtables: Fiber Quality Concerns are in the Mix

Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Paper Division President Ranjit Baxi of U.K.-based J&H Sales International has expressed concern that, for quality reasons, European recovered fiber exports to China are coming under increasing pressure from material supplied by other regions of the world. If China were to cut back on its imports, Europe was likely to be “the first to suffer,” Baxi told attendees of the BIR Paper Division meeting in Munich in October.

Third-quarter GDP growth in China was the slowest in two years, Baxi also noted, calling it proof that even the world’s main driver of demand for recovered fibre has not been immune to the latest economic crisis.

Baxi told attendees that China’s recovered fibre imports for the whole of 2011 were on course to be “slightly better” than the 22.2 million metric tons of 2010, but still below the 27.6 million metric tons of 2009.

The importance of establishing and following strict quality procedures was underlined by guest speaker Herman van der Miej, Commercial Sales Director at Viridor UK, which handles some 1.7 million metric tons of recyclables annually. There was an over-arching need, he contended, to monitor incoming supplies and to ensure outgoing product meets the standards set by customers.

In a meeting covering a wide range of topics, BIR’s Environmental & Technical Director Ross Bartley confirmed that there has been a delay in the process to establish “end-of-waste” criteria in the EU for recovered paper, with an important vote by the Technical Adaptation Committee now expected on or after May 4, 2012. Earlier, the European Recovered Paper Association’s President Merja Helander of Finland-based Lassila & Tikanoja described the end-of-waste issue as one of the most important currently facing the sector in Europe. In a guest presentation focusing on resource efficiency, UPM’s Head of Environmental Projects Dr Wilhelm Demharter urged politicians to accept that recovered paper is a resource and not a waste.

Controversial legislation in Spain was addressed at the Munich gathering by Francisco Donoso of Reciclajes Dolaf SL. A new law had the potential to threaten exports of recovered paper and paperboard beyond the EU despite the fact that the region ran up a surplus of 8 million metric tons last year. Fewer business opportunities would lead to lower prices and to a drop in financial resources for collection, he contended.

The global significance of Chinese recovered fiber imports was highlighted in another presentation in Munich, delivered by the Vice President of the Japan Recovered Paper Association, Nobutaka Okubo. He revealed that China accounted for 79.8 percent of all Japanese recovered paper exports last year - equivalent to just under 3.5 million metric tons. Of the 4.4 million metric tons exported by Japan to all destinations, OCC made up 50.6 percent and news/OMG a further 34.3 percent by grade, he added.

The BIR Paper Division’s latest Papyrus prize was awarded to Jim Malone, who manages 2 million metric tons of recovered fibre and other recyclables handled annually by the recycling division of the U.K.’s D S Smith group. Baxi described the recipient as a man with a passionate commitment to paper recycling.

The 2011 BIR Autumn Round-Table Sessions were Oct. 23-25 in Munich.