What Europe is good at: recycling paper

Europeans recycle more than half the paper they use. According to the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), in 2005 almost 87 million tonnes of paper and cardboard were used by Europeans and more than 47m tonnes were recycled back into paper.

The latest CEPI statistics show this means almost 55% of European paper was recycled in the 17 EU countries plus Norway and Switzerland that are monitored by CEPI.

Most countries collect more paper than they are able to recycle, with the excess shipped to recycling plants in Scandinavia and China.

Ireland is the most extreme example, with a 78% collection rate and no national recycling.

Including paper recycled outside the 19 CEPI countries takes the recycling total up to 62.6%.

Late last month CEPI announced it hoped to increase this to 66% before the end of the decade. This percentage will take account all 25 EU member states plus Bulgaria, Romania, Norway and Switzerland.

Kevin Bradley, president of the European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC) is hopeful that the targets can be met.

He said: "Both the paper recycling industry and the people making paper products now have a clear goal, to extend the life of paper products through recycling and to contribute to making Europe a recycling society."

A CEPI statement predicts: "In practice, the objectives of [this] declaration will translate into groundbreaking research and development in paper recycling, a focus on quality and responsible sourcing and on raising public awareness."

Europeans recycle more than half the paper they use. According to the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), in 2005 almost 87 million tonnes of paper and cardboard were used by Europeans and more than 47m tonnes were recycled back into paper.