Group Commissions Study on Building Recycled Paper Mill in Ireland

Led by the North South Market Development Steering Group and funded jointly by Northern Ireland’s Department of the Environment through the Waste & Resources Action Programme and Ireland’s Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the study will assess the strategic contribution which a new paper mill could make to delivering a dynamic and healthy recycled paper market.

Paper and paperboard are major components of the municipal and commercial solid waste stream within Ireland, and North and South recovery rates are increasing following the introduction of household curbside collection schemes and a growing commercial sector. At present, however, a significant amount of the recovered paper is exported for recycling. There is a need to consider how an island-wide strategic approach to market development for recyclable materials can be developed. If a viable option can be identified, this would provide stable domestic recycling capacity and produce new, recycled paper products for the domestic market.

The development has been welcomed by Dick Roche, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. “The draft National Biodegradable Strategy published earlier this year sets a challenging target of 45% recycling of paper and cardboard waste by 2009,” he explained. “With the planned growth of paper collection on the island and the limited reprocessing capacity, the potential for additional infrastructure needs to be explored and evaluated.

“Through the North South Market Development Steering Group and the Market Development Group here in the South, we are going to make exploring market and reprocessing opportunities a major priority. Two thirds of all material recovered for recycling goes abroad for recycling. This a big challenge and one which favours an island-wide approach.”

Adding her support to the study, DOE Minister Angela Smith MP said: “This is a timely initiative focused on identifying options to encourage the expansion of recycling on the island. The project is a culmination of the co-operative approach we have built up through the North/ South Ministerial Council and our linkage with WRAP, and will assist in the development of adequate, reliable and stable markets and outlets for the recovery of useful materials from the waste stream.

A stable market and sufficient processing capacity to meet increasing demands for recycling are essential if we are to meet our targets and move from waste towards resource management.”

The project is being managed by WRAP and will be delivered in two phases. Phase One begins this month and is being undertaken by a consortium of companies, combining the technical paper expertise of Jaakko Poyry and PIRA with the local business knowledge of The CIRCA Group and Initiative Economic Development.

It covers the development and assessment of paper mill options, and is divided into three main parts: * a review of consumption and demand for paper products; * an estimation of the sources, volumes and markets for recovered paper; and * an assessment of the options to use recovered paper, which will include the capacity and type of paper mill(s).

If suitable options are identified, Phase One will provide the foundation for progressing to Phase Two, which will involve a detailed feasibility study, including financial analysis, on the preferred mill or mills proposed.

”Currently, there are only two paper reprocessing facilities on the island, and while paper is an internationally traded commodity and can be exported for recycling, should opportunities to boost domestic capacity be identified it would help to underpin a healthy market for the growing volumes being recovered,” says Helen Irons, WRAP’s Materials Project Officer for paper.