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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(80)237 final.
Brussels/12May1980
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/*v£Y f.-Apf1H-'Ù5-të-d£~j&
DRAFTCOUNCILSort»duSectéterM£_<>■:/'Gênéul/"/./
NDATIONTOTHEMEMBERSTATES
CONCERNING THERECOVERY ANDREUSEOFWASTEPAPERANDBOARD
(submittedtotheCouncilbytheCommission )
C0MC80)237final.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Introduction -
; . *y..
TheEuropeanCommunityActionProgramme ontheEnvironment 1977-1981,
whichwasapprovedbyadeclaration oftheCounciloftheEuropean -
Communities andrepresentatives oftheMemberStatesmeetinginCouncil
on17May1977(1),explainsth?needforan"activeanti-wastepolicy"
andsetsoutprioritiesinthisfield-therecyclingofwastepaperand
boardisonesuchpriority.TheProgrammecoversthepreventionofwaste,
itsreclamation andrecycling aswellaseventualreuse.
».
TheCommittee onWasteManagement,(2),established toaidtheCommission
intheformulation ofaCommunityanti-wastepolicy,adoptedtherecovery
andreuseofwastepaperandboardasitsfirstpriorityandapproved,at
themeetingof4October1977,aprogrammeofworkinthisfield.
EconomicAspects
► \
1.InitsreplytotheCommission'squestionnaire of14July1978,the
EuropeanConfederation ofthePulp,PaperandBoardIndustry,(CEPAC),
calculated theEECannualdeficitin'fibrousrawmaterialsinthe
papersector(paper,pulp,woodandwastepaper)in1976tobe16million
tonnesayear(convertedintotonnesofpaperequivalent )againsta
consumption ofpaperandboardof30milliontonnesayear-.Consumption
ofapproximately 30milliontonneshastherefore beencoveredtothe
tuneof14milliontonnes,(i.e.about45%)byfibresofCommunity
origin(3).Ofthese14milliontpnnes,only5millionarewoodfibres
commingfromCommunityforests,theremaining 9milliontonnes,being
fibresrecycledfromwastepaper;thisrepresents arecoveryrateof
about32%(4)./ ;
(1)CoJ.NosC139of13June1977
(2)O.J.No:L115of1May1976
(3)Althoughitshouldberememberedthatfibrerecycledwithin'the
Community mayhavebeenimportedfromthirdcountries. *
(4)Therecoveryraterepresentstheratiobetweenthetotaltonnageof
wastepaperrecovered andtheapparentconsumption ofpaperandboard.

Again,takingthe1976consumptionof3,0m.Kllontonnesandbearingin
mindthatapproximately 15%endsupinLong-Livedproductsorisirre­
coverable,(5miLLiontonnes),thequantityofwastepaperwhichis
theoreticalLyrecoverable withintheE.E.C.amount'stoaround25mil­
liontonnes.Ofthisonlyabout10milliontonnesarerecoveredat
present.Approximately 15milliontonnesarestillbeingdisposedof
aswaste,mainlyingeneralhouseholdwaste.TheEuropeaneconomyis
thereforelosingtherawmaterialvalueofthese15milliontonnes.
(Assumingdisposalcostsofaround30UCEpertonneofhouseholdrefuse,
theirdisposaliscostingtheeconomymorethan450millionUCEper
yearinwastedisposalcosts.)
ObservingthatthetotalquantityofwasteproducedintheCommunity
canbeestimatedat1.700milliontonnesperyear,theCommunityAction
ProgrammeontheEnvironmentstatesthattheCommunitymustpromotean
activepolicytocombatwasteby,interalia:
a.reducingthepollutioncausedbytheaccumulation ofwaste;
b-contributingtotheharmoniousdevelopment ofeconomicactivity
inaccordancewiththeaimsoftheEECTreaty,adevelopment which
canonlybeinhibitedbytheincreasedcostofrawmaterials,by
theCommunity'sdependence onotherswithregardtosupplyand,in
thelongterm,bythegrowingscarcityandconsequentincreased
costofcertainrawmaterials.
Itremainstobeseenwhether,andunderwhatcircumstances,Community
resourcesofwoodandwastepapercanbeusedanddeveloped.Thefore­
castsoftheFoodandAgricultural Organization oftheUnitedNations
(F.A.O.),andofCEPACintheiranswertotheCommissionquestionnaire of
14July1978showthatexternalsuppliesmaywellbedifficultinthe
mediumandlongterm.
Themostfavourableprojection showsthatthewoodpulpproductionof
Scandinavia,whichiscurrentlythemainsupplieroftheE.E.C.,will
increaseby35%between1970andtheyear2000-anincreaseofroughly
6milliontonnes.Inviewofthetrendtowardsgreaterintegration in

theScandinavian industry,itisprobablethatthisextraquantity
willbedeliveredintheformofpaperand-notpulp.
<
ForSouthAmerica,theforecastsdependverymuchonhowinternalcon­
sumptiondevelops.Theavailablequantityofpaperpulp,howeverseems
unlikelytoexceed1milliontonnesbefore1990.InvestmentinAfrica
isnotsufficienttohaveadecisiveinfluenceonsuppliestotheCom­
munitybeforetheyear2000.
SuppliesfromAsiartcountrieswillbelargelyusedtomeetdomestic
needsintheforeseeablefutureandanysurplusquantities seemlikely
tobedirectedtowardsJapan.Alsotheexportpoliciesofthesecoun­
triesmaybeunpredictable .ThusitistoNorthAmerica,andinparti­
cularCanada,towhomtheCommunitymustlooktoensurethesupplyof
importedpulptoEuropebetweennowandtheyear2000.NorthAmerica
suppliestotheCommunityareofmarginalimportanceinrelationto
theirdomesticmarketsincetheybarelyaccountfor10%ofoutput-
butrepresentasignificant percentageofEECimportsandthisdominant
positioninsupplyingtheCommunitymarketwillgrowstronger.These
countries'exportpricesandquantitieswillbelargelydeterminedby
theirinternaldemandandwillbeanadditionalcauseofinstabilityin
theCommunitymarket. ,x
TheCommunity'sdependenceonexternalfactorsandtheuncertaintyof
suppliesfromnon-membercountriesmakeitallthemoreurgentforthe
E.E.C.todevelopitsownresourcespolicytothefullestextentpossi­
blesincefurtherdevelopment ofE.E.C.pulpwoodsupplywillmerely
enablethefuturepulpdeficittobekeptatitspresentlevel.;
AnE.E.C.ownresourcespolicyshouldthereforebebasedonpulpwood
andwastepaper.Thispolicyshouldbedevelopedinparallelwith
researchtofindalternative usesforwastepaper,whichwillhavethe
addedbenefitofincreasingstabilityinthewastepapermarket,al­
thoughpapermakingseemslikelytoremainthepredominantoutletfor
wastepaper. - -r

4.Thefollowingmoredetailedpointsonthewastepapersituationallowsamore
accuratepicturetobeformedoftheconditions' "andlimitsapplyingto
itsre-useandofthemeasuresrequired,whereappropriate,toincrease
consumption.
a.Firstly,whilstthedevelopment ofpulpwoodresourcesintheCom­
munityhasbeenonalimitedscale,wastepaperhasalreadybeen
developedtoasignificantextentand,ingeneral,theoptimumrate
ofutilisation couldbereachedevenmorequickly.
b.ThegeneraltrendisconfirmedbyarecentreportbytheO.E.C.D.(1).
Thereportshowsthattherewasafairlysustainedgrowthinwaste
paperusagein1973-4,anoticeablecontraction in1974-5andare­
coveryin1975-6.Itshouldalsobenoted,however,thatintheMem­
berStates,exceptfortheNetherlands,Italyandtoalesserextent
theFederalRepublicofGermany,thedemandforallcategoriesofwaste
paperdidnotincreasebetween1973and1976.
Itshouldbeunderstoodthattheeconomiccrisisandtheresulting
economymeasures,particularly inpackaging,havedampenedthegrowth
ofpaperandboardconsumption.1978levelsbarelyreachedthoseof
1973.
c.Demandforwastepaperbetween1973ana1976wasqualitybased.In
categoriesIII(highqualitywastepaper)andIV(mixedpapers)demand
fellinalmosteverycase.ForcategoryI(newspapersandmagazines)
andevenmoresoincategoryII(corrugatedpaper)demandrosein
nearlyallMemberStates.
d-ingeneralthelikelihoodofincreasedwastepaperutilisationremains
firm,butitislikelytobelessthanthe12to13milliontonnesof
wastepaperby1980whichtheMassusreport(2),basingitselfon
ameanannualgrowthrateof5%,predicted.Thisisbecausemanyfac­
torsintheeconomicenvironment havechangedsincetheonsetofthe
crisis.Growthintheconsumptionofwastepaper,inparticular,is
(1)"Structureandevolutionofthesupplyanddemandforthevariousqualities
ofwastepaper"-O.E.C.D.(DSTI/IND/PP/78-0?)of21March1978.(p.18)
(2)WastePaperintheE.E.C.-1974

muchweakerinviewofthedirectlinkbetweenconsumption andthe
quantitiesofwastepaperrecycled. "
e.FutureactionatCommunitylevelshouldtaketheproblemsoffibrous
paperresourcesandenvironmental protectionintoaccount.Thefol­
lowingprioritymeasureswithregardtodemandforwastepapermust
beconsidered :
i.thedifferentpreparatory techniques,especiallyde-inkingand
decontamination aspects,shouldbeimprovedinordertomake.
paperproductswhichcontainacertainproportionofrecycled
fibrescompetitive intheeyesoftheconsumerbothwithregard
toqualityandprire.TheCommunity'sresearchprogrammeis
designedtoachievethisimprovement (1);
ii*thecompulsoryusebypublicauthorities ofrecycledpaper,for
officepurposesandforhygiene papersshouldbe
promoted.Howeverinsignificant thismeasuremightatfirst
appear,itsimpactwouldbeconsiderable inviewoftheamount
-ofpaperwhichtheauthorities intheMemberStates,andthe
•' ' f
Commission,consume;
iii.existingspecifications forthevariouspaperproductsshould
bere-examinedtoensurethatthequalityofpaperandboard
manufactured isbestsuitedtoitsuse.Morewastepapermight
thusbeused,whileinvestment andoperatingcostswouldbe
reducedsincecertainstagesofproductionsuchasbleaching
mightturnouttobeunnecessary.
Thesemeasuresshouldbeaccompanied bytwosupportingactions:
~thepublicshouldbemademoreawareofthebenefitsand
availability ofrecycledpaper;
-consultation proceduresbetweenthepaperindustry,paper
users,therecoverytradeandthepublicauthorities should
besetup,wheretheydonotalreadyexist.;
(1)O.J.No:L107of21April1978.

5.Inconclusionitshouldberememberedthat:
*
-eachrecycledtonneofwastepaperenablesasubstantial savingof
woodtobemade,since,veryroughly,onetonneofchemicalpulp
requires3.5tonnesofwood,(thisobservation wouldholdgood,
eventhoughagreateruseofpulpwoodmaybedesirableintheinte­
restsofsoundmanagementofforestryresources);
-itcanbelesspollutingtouserecycledfibresratherthanpaper
pulp(ifoneconsidersthemanufacturing processesinvolved.)The
elimination ofthesludgeresultingfromde-inkingdoes,however,
raiseproblems;
-experience showsthatifwastepaperratherthandomesticvirgin
pulpisusedaverysignificant amountofenergycanbesavedover
theentireproductioncycle.
International Action
Otherinternational bodieshavealsostudiedthisproblem.The
WasteManagementPolicyGroupoftheO.E.C.D.inparticularhasfollowed
similarlinesandispresentlyfinalising aRecommendation whichwillbe
forwardedtotheO.E.C.D.Environment Committee.TheaimsoftheO.E.C.D.draft
Recommendation areparallelinconcepttothoseintheannexeddraft
Recommendation .
ActionbytheEuropeanCommunity
In1975theCounciladoptedtheDirectiveonWaste(75/442/EEC),which
setsoutthebasisfortheelimination,recoveryandreuseofwastesand
whichmakestheMemberStatesresponsibleformeasurestopromotethese
aims.
TheCommitteeonWasteManagement,established in1976toaidtheCommis­
sionasahighleveladvisory bodyhasalreadyadoptedtherecovery
andreuseofwastepaperandboardasafirstpriorityissue,hasapproved
aprogrammeofworkinthisfieldandsupportstheprinciplesandaimsof
thisRecommendation .

7-
BriefsummaryofthesituationintheMemberStates
Belgium:Arecommendation onusingmorerecycledpaperandboardin
thepublicserviceexistsbutexistingspecifications needtobere­
visedbeforeanyworthwhileresultscanbeachieved.Thereisno
ι
legalrequirement fortheuseofanidentification markn.
Denmark:Thenationaladministration isobligedtouserecycledpaper
asfaraspossible.Thereisnolegalrequirement fortheuseofan
identification mark.
FederalRepublicofGermany:Thereisnoobligation onthepublic
servicesatpresenttouserecycledpaperandboard,butthepossibility
ofloweringspecifications toenablemore'recycledproductstobeused
isbeingexamined.(TheInnenministerium tnestouseasmuchrecycled
paperaspossible.)
France:Hasbeendeveloping anactivepolicytoincreasetherecovery
andre-useofwastepaper.Viatheintermediary oftheIntervention
FundfortheImprovement ofNatureandtheEnvironment (FIANE)the
MinistryofIndustryhasearmarked FF3.8milliontopromotethere­
cyclingofwastepaper.In1978therewasasubstantial increasein
themeasurestopromotetherecoveryandre-useofwastepaper,i.e.y
a)increaseinfundstopromotewastepaperrecycling;
b)de-inkingplantcapacitysteppedupfrom10.000to20.000tonnes
peryear.Theultimateaimistoreach100.000tonnesperyear;
c)development ofoutletsforrecycledpaperbymeansofagovernment
circularurgingministries,departments andpublicundertakings to
makepriorityuseofrecycledpaperandbymeansofagreementsto
beconcludedwithindustrytodeterminetheextenttowhichrecycled
fibrescanbeused.Since1January1978theOfficialJournalof
theFrenchGovernment hasbeenprintedonrecycledpaper.
I

Ireland:Noactionatpresent.* .•
Italy:Publicservicesarebeingencouragedtouserecycledpaperand i
board. - i
Luxembourg :Allpublicservicesarerecommended toorderanduserecycled I
paper"asmuchaspossibLe"forreproductionandcopying.j
Netherlands:Thereisnoobligation onthepublicservicestouserecycled
paperandboard
UnitedKingdom:Noobligationexists,buttheauthorityresponsiblefor
buyingpaperandboardforCentralGovernment givesa
"measureofpreference"toproductswitharecycledcontent
andtheauthorities' technicalstaffworktogetherwiththe
paperindustrytodevelopspecifications whichwillenablea
greaterusetobemadeofproductscontaining recycledfibres.
Conclusion
TheannexeddraftRecommendation recognisesthattherearethreemainaspects
totheproblemofreusingwastepaperandboard.Firstly,itaimstocarryout
thetaskssetoutintheActionprogramme ontheEnvironment .Itissecondly,
alogicalextensionoftheactionbegunbytheDirective onWaste(75/442/EEC)
inthatitgivesprecisiontothegeneralpolicyaimssetoutinthatframework
Directive.Finallyitrecognizesthatthereareimportant andcomplexeconomic
problemstobesolved.
Giventheinvolvednatureoftheprob.lemoutlinedabove,thefragmentary response
tothisproblemintheMemberStates,andwithoutprejudicing anyformalproposal
thattheCommission mightfinddesirableornecessarytosubmitatalaterdate,
itisproposedthattheCouncilshouldaddressaRecommendation totheMember
Statesthattheybasetheirfuturenationalactionsinthisfieldontheaims
andprinciples whicharereferredtotherein.

Intheopinionof'theCommission,aCouncilRecommendation isthebetter
responsetotheproblemsoutlinedabove.Itisaquickresponsetoagiven
altuatlon,aresponsemoreoverwhichhasthe,ba?k.1ng -ofamajorityofthe
MemberStatesandtheCommitteeonWasteManagement.Inthecasewherethe
annexeddraftCouncilRecommendation demonstrably doesnotachieveitsaims,
theCommissionwillsubmitadditionalproposalsasne'cessary.

DRAFTCOUNCIL -RECOMMENDATION TOTHEMCMBERSTATESCONCERNING THERECOVERY
*••«
AND.REUSEOFWASTEPAPERANDBOARD
THECOUNCIL OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomicCommunity,and
inparticularArticle235thereof,
HavingregardtothedraftRecommendation submitted bytheCommission,
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEuropeanParliament,
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
WhereastheResolution oftheCounciloftheEuropeanCommunities and
oftheRepresentatives oftheGovernments oftheMemberStatesmeeting
withintheCouncilof17May1977onthecontinuation andimplementation
ofaEuropeanCommunitypolicyandactionprogramme ontheenvironment
statesthatpriority .inworkonwasteshallbegiven,interalia,to
thequestionofwastepaper;
WhereasArticle3(1)ofCouncilDirective 75/442/EECof15July1975
<1>onwastestatesthatMemberStatesshalltakeappropriate steps
toencouragetheprevention,recycling andprocessing ofwaste,the
extractionofrawmaterials andpossiblyofenergytherefrom and
anyotherprocessforthere-useofwaste;
Whereaswastepaperconstitutes asignificant percentage ofurban
wasteandistechnically recoverable asavaluablesecondary raw
materialforthemanufacture ofcertainpaperandboardproducts;
Whereastheproductionofpaperandboardusingrecycledfibres
consumeslessenergyandcanbelesspollutingthanthesameproduction
usingvirginrawmaterials;
No:mof25July1975

Whereas there isadeficiency (over 50% )inthe Community 'spresent needs
■ ' ' * • >
ofraw materials forpaper andboard manufacture which has tobemade up
byimports from non-member countries ;
RECOMMENDS that Member States define and implement policies topromote
theuse ofrecycled paper andboard andparticularly :
-encourage theuse ofrecycled -and recyclable -paper andboard , '
especially inthenational administrations ,public bodies andthose
national official services which can set anexample ;
-encourage where feasible ,the use ofrecycled paper andboard
containing ahigh percentage ofmixed waste paper ;
Ν
• • *
-re-examine ,inthe light ofrecent technological advances ,the
/
existing specifications forpaper products which restrict ,for
'*
reasons other than adequacy ofaproduct for itstask ,theuse
ofrecycled paper ;
implement programmes ofconsumer andmanufacturer education to
promote paper andboard products made from recycled fibres ;
develop andpromote uses forwaste paper other than asrawmaterial
forthemanufacture ofpaper andboard . ,