CELEX: 51980PC0237
Language: en
Date: 1980-05-12 00:00:00
Title: DRAFT COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION TO THE MEMBER STATES CONCERNING THE RECOVERY AND REUSE OF WASTE PAPER AND BOARD (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                        COM(80)237 final.
                                                        Brussels / 12 May 1980
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           DRAFT COUNCIL            NDATION TO THE MEMBER STATES
     CONCERNING THE RECOVERY AND REUSE OF WASTE PAPER AND BOARD
             ( submitted to the Council by the Commission )
C0MC80 ) 237 final .
 ---pagebreak---                               EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM
Introduction                                      -
                      ;          .                      * y. .
The European Community Action Programme on the Environment 1977 - 1981 ,
which was approved by a declaration of the Council of the European       -
Communities and representatives of the Member States meeting in Council
on 17 May 1977 ( 1 ), explains th ? need for an " active anti-waste policy "
and sets out priorities in this field - the recycling of waste paper and
board is one such priority . The Programme covers the prevention of waste ,
its reclamation and recycling as well as eventual reuse .
            ».
The Committee on Waste Management , ( 2), established to aid the Commission
in the formulation of a Community anti-waste policy , adopted the recovery
and reuse of waste paper and board as its first priority and approved , at
the meeting of 4 October 1977, a programme of work in this field .
Economic Aspects
                                                                           ►      \
1.   In its reply to the Commission 's questionnaire of 14 July 1978 , the
     European Confederation of the Pulp, Paper and Board Industry , ( CEPAC ),
     calculated the EEC annual deficit in' fibrous raw materials in the
     paper sector ( paper, pulp , wood and waste paper ) in 1976 to be 16 million
     tonnes a year ( converted into tonnes of paper equivalent ) against a
     consumption of paper and board of 30 million tonnes a year-. Consumption
     of approximately 30 million tonnes has therefore been covered to the
     tune of 14 million tonnes , ( i.e. about 45% ) by fibres of Community
     origin ( 3). Of these 14 million tpnnes , only 5 million are wood fibres
     comming from Community forests , the remaining 9 million tonnes, being
     fibres recycled from waste paper ; this represents a recovery rate of
     about 32% ( 4 ). /                                        ;
(1)     CoJ . Nos C 139 of 13 June 1977
( 2)    O.J. No : L 115 of 1 May 1976
( 3)    Although it should be remembered that fibre recycled within' the
        Community may have been imported from third countries .                 *
(4)     The recovery rate represents the ratio between the total tonnage of
        waste paper recovered and the apparent consumption of paper and board .
 ---pagebreak--- Again , taking the 1976 consumption of 3,0 m.Kllon tonnes and bearing in
mind that approximately 15% ends up in Long-Lived products or is irre­
coverable , (5 miLLion tonnes ), the quantity of waste paper which is
theoreti calLy recoverable within the E.E.C. amount 's to around 25 mil­
 lion tonnes .   Of this only about 10 million tonnes are recovered at
present .    Approximately 15 million tonnes are still being disposed of
as waste , mainly in general household waste .   The European economy is
therefore losing the raw material value of these 15 million tonnes .
 ( Assuming disposal costs of around 30 UCE per tonne of household refuse ,
their disposal is costing the economy more than 450 million UCE per
year in waste disposal costs .)
Observing that the total quantity of waste produced in the Community
can be estimated at 1.700 million tonnes per year , the Community Action
Programme on the Environment states that the Community must promote an
active policy to combat waste by , inter alia :
a . reducing the pollution caused by the accumulation of waste ;
b - contributing to the harmonious development of economic activity
     in accordance with the aims of the EEC Treaty , a development which
     can only be inhibited by the increased cost of raw materials , by
     the Community 's dependence on others with regard to supply and , in
     the long term , by the growing scarcity and consequent increased
     cost of certain raw materials .
 It remains to be seen whether , and under what circumstances , Community
 resources of wood and waste paper can be used and developed .    The fore­
 casts of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
 ( F.A.O. ), and of CEPAC in their answer to the Commission questionnaire of
 14 July 1978 show that external supplies may well be difficult in the
 medium and long term .
The most favourable projection shows that the wood pulp production of
 Scandinavia , which is currently the main supplier of the E.E.C. , will
 increase by 35% between 1970 and the year 2000 - an increase of roughly
 6 million tonnes .   In view of the trend towards greater integration in
 ---pagebreak--- the Scandinavian industry , it is probable that this extra quantity
will be delivered in the form of paper and- not pulp .
                                                   <
 For South America , the forecasts depend very much on how internal con­
sumption develops .   The available quantity of paper pulp, however seems
unlikely to exceed 1 million tonnes before 1990 .     Investment in Africa
is not sufficient to have a decisive      influence on supplies to the Com­
munity before the year 2000 .
Supplies from Asiart countries will be largely used to meet domestic
needs in the foreseeable future and any surplus quantities seem likely
to be directed towards Japan .     Also the export policies of these coun­
tries may be unpredictable .     Thus it is to North America , and in parti­
cular Canada , to whom the Community must look to ensure the supply of
imported pulp to Europe between now and the year 2000 .      North America
supplies to the Community are of marginal importance in relation to
their domestic market since they barely account for 10% of output -
but represent a significant percentage of EEC imports and this dominant
position in supplying the Community market will grow stronger .      These
countries' export prices and quantities will be largely determined by
their internal demand and will be an additional cause of instability in
the Community market .                                          ,x
The Community 's dependence on external factors and the uncertainty of
supplies from non-member countries make it all the more urgent for the
E.E.C. to develop its own resources policy to the fullest extent possi­
ble since further development of E.E.C. pulp wood supply will merely
enable the future pulp deficit to be kept at its present level . ;
An E.E.C. own resources policy should therefore be based on pulp wood
and waste paper .   This policy should be developed in parallel with
 research to find alternative uses for waste paper , which will have the
added benefit of increasing stability in the waste paper market , al­
though paper making seems likely to remain the predominant outlet for
waste paper .                  -                          -r
 ---pagebreak--- 4 . The following more detailed points on the waste paper situation allows a more
       accurate picture to be formed of the conditions'" and limits applying to
       its re-use and of the measures required , where appropriate , to increase
       consumption .
      a . Firstly , whilst the development of pulp wood resources in the Com­
           munity has been on a limited scale , waste paper has already been
           developed to a significant extent and , in general , the optimum rate
           of utilisation could be reached even more quickly .
      b . The general trend is confirmed by a recent report by the O.E.C.D. ( 1 ).
           The report shows that there was a fairly sustained growth in waste
           paper usage in 1973-4 , a noticeable contraction in 1974-5 and a re­
           covery in 1975-6 .  It should also be noted , however , that in the Mem­
           ber States , except for the Netherlands , Italy and to a lesser extent
           the Federal Republic of Germany , the demand for all categories of waste
           paper did not increase between 1973 and 1976 .
           It should be understood that the economic crisis and the resulting
           economy measures , particularly in packaging , have dampened the growth
           of paper and board consumption .     1978 levels barely reached those of
           1973 .
      c . Demand for waste paper between 1973 ana 1976 was quality based . In
           categories III ( high quality waste paper ) and IV ( mixed papers ) demand
           fell in almost every case .   For category I (newspapers and magazines )
           and even more so in category II ( corrugated paper ) demand rose in
           nearly all Member States .
      d - in general the likelihood of increased waste paper utilisation remains
           firm , but it is likely to be less than the 12 to 13 million tonnes of
           waste paper by 1980 which the Massus report           (2 ), basing itself on
           a mean annual growth rate of 5% , predicted .         This is because many fac­
           tors in the economic environment have changed since the onset of the
           crisis .  Growth in the consumption of waste paper, in particular , is
 ( 1 ) " Structure and evolution of the supply and demand for the various qualities
         of waste paper " - O.E.C.D. ( DSTI / IND / PP / 78-0 ?) of 21 March 1978 . ( p. 18 )
 (2 ) Waste Paper in the E.E.C. - 1974
 ---pagebreak---      much weaker in view of the direct link between consumption and the
     quantities of waste paper recycled .                   "
e.   Future action at Community level should take the problems of fibrous
     paper resources and environmental protection into account .       The fol­
      lowing priority measures with regard to demand for waste paper must
     be considered :
     i.    the different preparatory techniques , especially de-inking and
           decontamination aspects , should be improved in order to make .
           paper products which contain a certain proportion of recycled
           fibres competitive in the eyes of the consumer both with regard
           to quality and prire .   The Community 's research programme is
           designed to achieve this improvement     (1 );
     ii * the compulsory use by public authorities of recycled paper, for
           office purposes    and  for  hygiene           papers should be
           promoted .  However insignificant this measure might at first
           appear , its impact would be considerable in view of the amount
         - of paper which the authorities in the Member States , and the
                                                          •  ' '           f
           Commission , consume ;
     iii. existing specifications for the various paper products should
           be re-examined to ensure that the quality of paper and board
           manufactured is best suited to its use . More waste paper might
           thus be used , while investment and operating costs would be
           reduced since certain stages of production such as bleaching
           might turn out to be unnecessary .
     These measures should be accompanied by two supporting actions :
       ~   the public should be made more aware of the benefits and
           availability of recycled paper ;
       -   consultation procedures     between the paper industry, paper
           users , the recovery trade and the public authorities should
           be set up, where they do not already exist . ;
( 1 ) O.J. No : L 107 of 21 April 1978 .
 ---pagebreak--- 5. In conclusion it should be remembered that :
                                                      *
   - each recycled tonne of waste paper enables a substantial saving of
       wood to be made , since , very roughly , one tonne of chemical pulp
       requires 3.5 tonnes of wood,    (this observation would hold good ,
       even though a greater use of pulp wood may be desirable in the inte­
       rests of sound management of forestry resources );
   - it can be less polluting to use recycled fibres rather than paper
       pulp   ( if one considers the manufacturing processes involved.) The
       elimination of the sludge resulting from de-inking does , however ,
       raise problems ;
   - experience shows that if waste paper rather than domestic virgin
       pulp is used a very significant amount of energy can be saved over
       the entire production cycle .
   International Action
Other international bodies have also studied this problem .        The
Waste Management Policy Group of the O.E.C.D. in particular has followed
similar lines and is presently finalising a Recommendation which will be
forwarded to the O.E.C.D. Environment Committee . The aims of the O.E.C.D. draft
Recommendation are parallel in concept to those in the annexed draft
Recommendation .
   Action by the European Community
In 1975 the Council adopted the Directive on Waste        ( 75 /442/ EEC ), which
sets out the basis for the elimination , recovery and reuse of wastes and
which makes the Member States responsible for measures to promote these
aims .
The Committee on Waste Management , established in 1976 to aid the Commis­
sion as a high level      advisory     body has already adopted the recovery
and reuse of waste paper and board as a first priority issue , has approved
a programme of work in this field and supports the principles and aims of
this Recommendation .
 ---pagebreak---                                7 -
Brief summary of the situation in the Member States
Belgium : A recommendation on using more recycled paper and board in
the public service exists but existing specifications need to be re­
vised before any worthwhile results can be achieved .     There is no
                                                                    ι
 legal requirement for the use of an identification markn.
Denmark : The national administration is obliged to use recycled paper
as far as possible .     There is no legal requirement for the use of an
 identification mark .
 Federal Republic of Germany : There is no obligation on the public
services at present to use recycled paper and board , but the possibility
of lowering specifications to enable more' recycled products to be used
is being examined .    ( The Innenministerium tnes to use as much recycled
 paper as possible .)
France : Has been developing an active policy to increase the recovery
and re-use of waste paper .     Via the intermediary of the Intervention
Fund for the Improvement of Nature and the Environment ( FIANE ) the
Ministry of Industry has earmarked FF 3.8 million to promote the re­
cycling of waste paper .     In 1978 there was a substantial increase in
the measures to promote the recovery and re-use of waste paper , i.e. y
  a ) increase in funds to promote waste paper recycling ;
  b ) de-inking plant capacity stepped up from 10.000 to 20.000 tonnes
      per year . The ultimate aim is to reach 100.000 tonnes per year ;
  c ) development of outlets for recycled paper by means of a government
      circular urging ministries , departments and public undertakings to
      make priority use of recycled paper and by means of agreements to
      be concluded with industry to determine the extent to which recycled
      fibres can be used .   Since 1 January 1978 the Official Journal of
      the French Government has been printed on recycled paper .
                                                                      I
 ---pagebreak--- Ireland :    No action at present .     *                 .   •
Italy :   Public services are being encouraged to use recycled paper and          i
          board .                                  -                               i
Luxembourg :    All public services are recommended to order and use recycled        I
                paper "as much as possibLe" for reproduction and copying.            j
Nether lands :    There is no obligation on the public services to use recycled
                  paper and board
United Kingdom :     No obligation exists , but the authority responsible for
                     buying paper and board for Central Government gives a
                     "measure of preference " to products with a recycled content
                     and the authorities' technical staff work together with the
                     paper industry to develop specifications which will enable a
                     greater use to be made of products containing recycled fibres .
Conc lus ion
The annexed draft Recommendation recognises that there are three main aspects
to the problem of reusing waste paper and board . Firstly , it aims to carry out
the tasks set out in the Action programme on the Environment . It is secondly ,
a logical extension of the action begun by the Directive on Waste ( 75 / 442 / EEC )
in that it gives precision to the general policy aims set out in that framework
Directive . Finally it recognizes that there      are  important and complex economic
problems to be solved .
Given the involved nature of the prob.lem outlined above , the fragmentary response
to this problem in the Member States , and without prejudicing any formal proposal
that the Commission might find desirable or necessary to submit at a later date ,
it is proposed that the Council should address a Recommendation to the Member
States that they base their future national actions in this field on the aims
and principles which are referred to therein .
 ---pagebreak--- In the opinion of 'the Commission , a Council Recommendation is the better
response to the problems outlined above . It is a quick response to a given
altuatlon, a response moreover which has the,ba?k.1ng -of a majority of the
Member States and the Committee on Waste Management . In the case where the
annexed draft Council Recommendation demonstrably does not achieve its aims,
the Commission will submit additional proposals as ne'cessary .
 ---pagebreak--- DRAFT    COUNCIL -   RECOMMENDATION TO THE M C MBER STATES CONCERNING THE RECOVERY
                                                *   • • «
AND .REUSE OF WASTE PAPER AND BOARD
THE    COUNCIL     OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and
in particular Article 235 thereof ,
Having regard to the draft Recommendation submitted by the Commission ,
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament ,
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ,
    Whereas the Resolution of the Council of the European Communities and
    of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting
    within the Council of 17 May 1977 on the continuation and implementation
    of a European Community policy and action programme on the environment
    states that priority . in work on waste shall be given , inter alia , to
    the question of waste paper ;
    Whereas Article 3(1 ) of Council Directive 75 / 442 / EEC of 15 July 1975
             <1 >
    on waste       states that Member States shall take appropriate steps
    to encourage the prevention , recycling and processing of waste , the
    extraction of raw materials and possibly of energy therefrom and
    any other process for the re-use of waste ;
   Whereas waste paper constitutes a significant percentage of urban
    waste and is technically recoverable as a valuable secondary raw
    material for the manufacture of certain paper and board products ;
    Whereas the production of paper and board using recycled fibres
    consumes less energy and can be less polluting than the same production
    using virgin raw materials ;
             No :    m of 25 July 1975
 ---pagebreak--- Whereas there is a deficiency ( over 50% ) in the Community 's present needs
    ■   ' '        *                            •  >
of raw materials for paper and board manufacture which has to be made up
by imports from non-member countries ;
RECOMMENDS that Member States define and implement policies to promote
the use of recycled paper and board and particularly :
- encourage the use of recycled - and recyclable - paper and board, '
   especially in the national administrations , public bodies and those
  national official services which can set an example ;
- encourage where feasible, the use of recycled paper and board
  containing a high percentage of mixed waste paper ;
            Ν
                                • •    *
- re-examine , in the light of recent technological advances , the
      /
  existing specifications for paper products which restrict , for
                                                         ' *
  reasons other than adequacy of a product for its task , the use
  of recycled paper ;
  implement programmes of consumer and manufacturer education to
  promote paper and board products made from recycled fibres ;
  develop and promote uses for waste paper other than as raw material
  for the manufacture of paper and board .        ,