ERPC Adopts Deinkability Scorecard

In an effort to ensure the recyclability and promote sustainable production processes of eco-designed printed products, the European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC) has adopted a new assessment scheme, the deinkability scorecard.

The deinkability scorecard will allow printers, publishers and other members of the paper value chain to identify which types of printed paper products have the best recyclability when they are deinked. The new scheme will measure a paper’s luminosity, color, cleanliness, ink elimination, and filtrate darkening as laid out in Method 11, developed by the International Assoication for the Deinking Industry.

After evaluation on the five parameters, the paper will be assessed a grade of good, fair, poor or unsuitable for deinking, based on their deinkability. Even if a product is labelled not suitable for deinking, it still may be recyclable using other processes.

"The paper industry in Europe is extremely active in the field of recycling and in 2006 we reached a recycling rate of 63.4% which is well on the way to our target of 66% by 2010. This initiative allows us to improve further the quality of recycled paper as well as improving our environmental performance", says Andres Hildeman, ERPC Chairman.

A full description of how the scorecard works, as well as how the results of the tests are presented and interpreted, is available to download from www.paperrecovery.eu.