Canadian paper mills are experiencing a "gradual degradation" in the quality of Old Newspapers, available in the marketplace, creating a "serious problem" for Canada's paper recycling industry.
In a position paper released late last month, the Canada's Paper Recycling Association said its member paper mills have determined that recovered paper presently being sold as ONP " typically contains excessive amounts of Prohibitive Materials and Outthrows" in comparison with Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, or ISRI, specifications.
"It is our experience that the ISRI specifications for ONP are not being properly applied for the grades under which recovered ONP is being marketed," the association said.
The association said its members support productivity increases in the collection and sorting of recyclables. It said improved plant efficiencies " should not be at the expense of the conformance to quality specifications." It added that the increased Outthrows and Prohibitive Materials is a costly problem for mills, which leads to "higher operating costs, excessive land fill costs and dissatisfied customers."
The association said the health of Canada's recycled paper industry is dependent on the ability of mills to efficiently use the recovered paper and consistently produce high quality paper suitable for the marketplace.
It said, "We firmly believe that the paper recycling industry must get back to using a common grading system that accurately reflects the specifications of the different grades of marketed ONP. The Paper Recycling Association will work collectively with all stakeholders in the recovered paper industry to meet the specifications of marketed ONP."
The Paper Recycling Association represents Canadian paper mills that consume recovered paper and board in the manufacture of newsprint, containerboard, boxboard and many other papers and boards.