Photo: Dreamstime
IMPACTPapeRec started 1 February 2016 and will continue for a period of two years. The project is financed by the European Union Horizon 2020 programme, having evolved from a commitment on separate paper collection in the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials.
Thirty-six experts from eight countries representing research institutes, municipalities, obliged producers, paper industry and NGOs gathered in Valencia, Spain, to kick off the project and to plan the activities for the next few months.
The project focuses on countries with below-average paper recycling rates, such as Bulgaria, Poland and Romania, as well as countries where paper from households, small shops and offices often is collected in a commingled stream with other recyclables, as in France and the U.K. The participants started discussing the existing schemes as well as indicators to define best practice separate collection schemes.
Antonio Dobon from the project coordinator ITENE, Valenccia, said: “We are very excited about the start of the project. It comes at a time when the European Commission presented its proposal for a circular economy stressing the importance of separate collection. With this project we will work to reach the recycling targets in those territories that are below the average. We will also seek for paper for recycling collection practices that allow reach both environmental and economic benefits. For doing so, we will define these best practices and spread them widely in Europe so that other municipalities can adopt them”.
IMPACTPapeRec is a consortium of 19 partners, including CEPI (the Confederation of European Paper Industries), ITENE and SAICA, from eight countries—Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria France, Germany, Poland, Romania and Spain. IMPACTPapeRec says it aims to put Europe at the forefront of paper for recycling (PfR) collection by providing an innovative and common knowledge platform based on the engagement of the whole paper value chain, including research, industry, policies, standards, municipalities and citizens.
This project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 690182.