Paper Mills Make Use of Recovered Paper Identification System

Last autumn, CEPI (The Confederation of European Paper Industries), ERPA (European Recovered Paper Association) and FEAD, the European federation representing the European waste management industry, launched a European Recovered Paper Identification System that was designed to allow recovered paper suppliers to register for a unique supplier code to use in marking their recovered paper bales.

This program provides suppliers with identification system that can be used in bilateral contracts when supplying recovered paper throughout Europe. Every member in the recovered paper chain keeps track of its supplier, ensuring business confidentiality, according to the sponsoring organisations. However, public authorities may be granted access to the supplier codes to trace the origin of recovered paper bales when necessary.

Several paper mills have followed the organisations’ recommendation to employ the voluntary European Recovered Paper Identification System and have started asking their suppliers to identify their recovered paper accordingly. In cases where systems for supplier identification already existed, paper mills have started to adapt their contracts with their suppliers to comply with the requirements of the harmonized European system, according to a press release issued by CEPI, FEAD and ERPA. 

According to the organisations, more than 500 recovered paper suppliers in Europe have already registered to the system. Additionally, recovered paper suppliers with several depots have used the option of registering their depots in the system. Public authorities have not yet enquiring as to the origin of recovered paper bales with the help of the identification system.