BIR Report

A recent statement by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), Brussels, Belgium, states that while press reports suggest Europe’s recovered paper has become virtually unsalable, demand for recovered fiber remains strong and collection programs must continue.

The BIR acknowledges that paper stock prices tumbled during the fourth quarter of 2008, but says that prices have since been improving.

"At no point did the purchased volumes of recovered paper fall as sharply as prices," Ranjit Baxi, president of the BIR’s Paper Division and managing director of U.K.-based J & H Sales International, says. "What happened recently in the recovered paper market was a direct consequence of the sudden global economic downturn."

With this world economic downturn leading to a reduction in the volume of paper and board products purchased, less material could potentially come forward for collection and recycling.

Even with the expected contraction of the U.S. and European paper markets this year, demand from China and India are expected to grow.

As to claims made by some newspapers in Europe that significant amounts of recovered fiber are being warehoused because of limited consuming markets, Baxi claims that statistics indicate the vast majority of local authorities are storing recyclable materials no longer than normal. The material that has required storage is generally of a lower quality, with limited demand from the world’s paper and board producers, he adds.