New Zealand continues to improve its paperboard recovery rate with an impressive 78 per cent of all paperboard consumed now being collected for recycling into new products.
Jack Hayward, president of the New Zealand Paperboard Packaging Association mentioned a combination of factors that helped. He said, “We’re now seeing the benefits of better kerbside collection systems, better practices by industry with regard to recycling and much greater public awareness about how and what to recycle.
"In addition there has been a surge in demand for recovered paper and paperboard particularly from the Asian markets and this is driving up export prices. China is producing large volumes of paper packaging to ship its products to the world which is all good news for recycling markets.”
Hayward also says that New Zealand’s recovery rate surpasses Europe, at 63.4 per cent, and the USA and Australia, both at 55 per cent. He says, “Once again we have delivered a new record which is a credit to the combined efforts of NZPPA member companies, the people who recycle, local authorities and recycling operators. This far exceeds the 70% target set for paperboard recovery under the New Zealand Packaging Accord.”
Independent consultancy Infometrics Ltd prepared the statistics after refining the methodology for calculating packaging production and consumption data. The refinement means a recalculation for production and export tonnages for 2006 but leaves the 78 per cent recovery figure unchanged.
Recovered paperboard is used to make new packaging which in turn supports export markets. Most meat, dairy, fruit and manufacturer goods are contained, protected and presented in paperboard packaging. New Zealand paper mills also have a lower carbon footprint than in many other countries because they use geothermal energy and electricity from renewable resources such as hydro, geothermal and wind.
The market for recovered paper looks set to continue according to a recent report which finds that from now until 2012 the world’s paper mills will require as much new recovered paper as all of the paper currently recovered in the United States.
