RISI China Conference: Peak paper

The impact of online information sources and a declining population are among the factors that have contributed to many of Japan’s papermaking and paper recycling sectors having peaked earlier in the 21^st century.

Toru Nakachimi of Japan-based Kokusai Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd., who presented at the RISI Fifth Annual China International Recycled Fiber Conference, held in Zhuhai, China, in early December, said the consumption of newsprint in Japan peaked between 2000 and 2005, with newspaper advertising revenue figures charting a similar course.

Statistics presented by Nakachimi indicate the magazine market in Japan, as measured by revenue, has been cut in half since 1996, while book publishing revenue has shrunk by more than 25%.

Thanks to diligent recycling efforts and stability in the packaging sector, however, Japan was able to increase the volume of scrap paper it recovers annually during much of this stretch, from slightly more than 15 million tonnes in 1995 to 21.4 million tonnes in 2015.

Even on this front, however, a peak may have been reached. According to Nakachimi, Japan was able to harvest some 23.3 million tonnes of scrap paper in 2007, so its most recent annual figure of 21.4 million tonnes represents an 8.1% decrease from the peak.

In 2015, old corrugated containers (OCC) represented nearly 50% of the paper recovered in Japan, with old newspapers representing 21.5% of the total.

About 64% of the feedstock used in Japan’s scrap paper-friendly mill sector is recovered fibre. In 2015, that means that more than 17 million of the 21.4 million collected tonnes were consumed within Japan while 4.26 million tonnes (19.9%) was exported.

He said Kokusai Pulp & Paper is attempting to collect yet more fibre through programs such as the Town Ecomo effort, which involves providing gift certificates and other incentives from recycling bins placed at supermarkets and other collection points.

However, Nakachimi said, it will be “very difficult to raise the recovery rate any more. The recovery rate in Japan is stable and the quality is stable.”

The RISI Fifth Annual China International Recycled Fiber Conference was 8-9 December in Zhuhai, China.