Paper & Card

Paper & Card wastes include any single one or mixture of the following: Paper, card, board, board/plastic composites and other paper composite products. Most of this waste arises from offices and packaging.

Recycled cardboard in bales

Overview

Paper & Card is essentially derived from trees and so, if it is to be sustainable, paper and card waste should be recycled so the rate at which these materials are used does not exceed the rate at which the trees can grow.

In addition to recycling, a significant portion of paper and card waste is sent to energy recovery facilities as part of the waste mix where recycling has not fully recovered the material, totaling 566,000 tonnes in 2014. Where this material is in the waste mix and sent to energy recovery facilities it is counted as Biomass/Renewable content.

The grouping of Paper & Card is a broad category but captures a wide range of different specific categories/types within the recycling sector that essentially specializes in the recycling and the national and international trading of the fibre (from the different types) back into paper and cardboard (and to some degree the value of fibre in recycled paper and card types links back the value and availability of fibre derived from trees and wood). Each time Paper & Card is recycled the fibre length shortens, resulting in a progressive use towards lower grades of Paper & Card products over time.

Under Simpler Recycling Paper and Card is defined as all paper and card except:

• Paper and card that contains glitter or foil
• Paper that is laminated
• Stickers and sticky paper
• Padded lined envelopes
• Paperback and hardback books
• Wallpaper

Paper and Card Grades (examples incl. KLS, OCC and NEWS and PAMS)

Whilst the macro split is into essentially into Paper & Card, the businesses specializing in these material trade in the wider markets which have a global influence. Categories and grades might include, for example:

• Mixed Papers
• Old KLS (also sometimes combined with OCC)
• NEWS and PAMS
• OCC 11 (grade 11)
• Over Issue
• Best White No.2
• Sorted Office Waste

‌ A European list of standard grades of paper and board is captured in EN 643 which was revised in 2013. There are 5 groups that fall with in the definition of 'Paper and Board for Recycling', further defined as natural fibre-based paper and board suitable for recycling; consisting of paper and board in any shape or product made predominately from paper and board, which may include other constituents that cannot be removed by dry sorting, such as coatings, laminates, spiral bindings etc. The Groups under EN 643 are:

1. Ordinary Grades
2. Medium Grades
3. High Grades
4. Kraft Grades
5. Special Grades

Macro Tonnages

The most recent information published by DEFRA is based on 2016 data and is summarized in the pie chart below, with 6,989,853 tonnes of paper & cardboard wastes generated in the UK in 2016 as part of the broader tonnage reported in UK Waste Tonnage:

Paper and Cardboard Wastes
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Data Table
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (AFF)	8,425
Mining and Quarrying (MQ)	1,168
Industrial (Ind)	1,329,827
Construction (Con)	20,000
Commercial (Com)	4,535,548
Household (HH)	1,094,886

The macro numbers above under report the total paper & card put into the market as the macro numbers exclude tonnage in mixed categories. The macro numbers also do not breakdown the component elements of paper & card, but the following headers in the page are the materials as handled by local authorities and as reported through WasteDataFlow.

Books

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 500 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.

Authority	Stream	Facility	Operator	Address	Material	Tonnes	Reporting Period
Bromley LB	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	Multiple destinations	Multiple	Books	1,537.94	Apr21 - Mar22
West Sussex County Council	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	DS Smith Paper Ltd	Kemsley Paper Mill, Kemsley, Sittingbourne, Kent	Books	947.36	Apr21 - Mar22
Kingston-upon-Hull City Council	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	Other/Exempt	JMP WILCOX & CO LTD, BELDRAY WORKS, BELDRAY ROAD BILSTON, WOLVERHAMPTON, WEST MIDLANDS , WV14 7NH	Books	713.07	Apr21 - Mar22
Birmingham City Council	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	Other/Exempt	Books Wilcox Beldray Works, Beldray Road, Bilston, Wolverhampton WV14 7NHTetiles and footwear a number of charities	Books	669.23	Apr21 - Mar22
Wandsworth LB	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	Other/Exempt	Chris Carey's CollectionsRaymond HouseCricket LaneBeckenhamKentBR3 1LW	Books	574.99	Apr21 - Mar22
East Riding of Yorkshire Council	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	Other/Exempt	Wilcox Industrial Supply Co. Beldray Works, Beldray Road Bilston, West Midlands WV14 7NH	Books	527.00	Apr21 - Mar22

Card

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 10000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.

Authority	Stream	Facility	Operator	Address	Material	Tonnes	Reporting Period
Worcestershire County Council	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	Dew Mr David & Dew Mr Jonathan	Unit 100, Blackpole Road, Blackpole Trading Estate, Worcester, Worcestershire	Card	33,990.98	Apr21 - Mar22
Birmingham City Council	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	Smurfit Kappa UK Ltd	Mount Street, Nechells, Birmingham	Card	18,203.36	Apr21 - Mar22
Bristol City Council	Source segregated recyclate	Exporter - recycling (qu19)	Kier M G Limited	Bristol Waste Recycling Facility, Albert Road, St Philips, Bristol, Avon	Card	12,732.40	Apr21 - Mar22

Mixed Paper & Card

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 5000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.

Authority	Stream	Facility	Operator	Address	Material	Tonnes	Reporting Period

Paper

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 7000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.

Authority	Stream	Facility	Operator	Address	Material	Tonnes	Reporting Period
Somerset Waste Partnership	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	DS Smith Paper Ltd	Kemsley Paper Mill, Kemsley, Sittingbourne, Kent	Paper	9,979.69	Apr21 - Mar22
Lancashire County Council	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	Recycling Lives Ltd	D1/ D2 Longridge Road, Red Scar Bus Park, Preston, Lancashire	Paper	8,725.31	Apr21 - Mar22
Vale of Glamorgan Council	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	Cowbridge Compost Ltd	The Lodge, Llwynhelig, Gibbots Hill, Cowbridge, Vale Of Glamorgan	Paper	8,502.31	Apr21 - Mar22
Pembrokeshire County Council	Comingled recyclate	Materials recovery facility	A J Recycling Ltd	Meigan Wells, Blaenfodd, Boncath, Pembrokeshire	Paper	7,459.55	Apr21 - Mar22
St Helens MBC	Source segregated recyclate	Reprocessor - recycling (qu19)	Biffa Waste Services Ltd	Pocket Nook Resource Management Centre, Pocket Nook Street, St Helens, Warrington, Cheshire	Paper	7,451.41	Apr21 - Mar22