Isbn: 3-527-30999-3

In 1950, about 50% of the global paper production was produced. This proportion

decreased until 2002 to 25% and becomes also expressed in the lowest average

annual growth rate between 1950 and 2002 in this comparison of: 2.5% for USA;

4.0% Worldwide; 4.2% for the cepi countries; and 4.8% for Germany.

Compared with the situation today, the recycling of used paper products manufactured

from woodpulp fibers was of little importance during the first half of the

twentieth century. During the 1950s and 1960s, increasing use was made of

recycled fiber furnish, especially for the production of packaging paper and board.

International statistics related to the use of recovered paper published in the official

yearbooks of the German association of the paper industry (VDP) stated first

in 1979 international data for the utilization of recovered paper. In 1963, the

annual review of PPI (Pulp &P aper International) published earlier international

data on recovered paper for the year 1961 [7]. Figure 1.1 illustrates the global increase

of recovered paper utilization and paper production between 1961 and 2002.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

1961 1970 1980 1990 2002

Recovered paper utilization

Paper production

Recovered paper utilization and paper production, 106 tons

37.1 %

Recovered paper utilization rate

19.3 % 23.6 % 29.6 % 47.7 %

Fig. 1.1 Global development of recovered paper utilization

and paper production between 1961 and 2002 [1–4,7].

In Fig. 1.2, the development of recovered paper utilization and paper production

is split into the USA, the CEPI countries, and Germany. It is clear that since 1990,

the use of recovered paper has increased over-proportionally, with average annual

growth rates between 1961 and 2002 for recovered paper use as 3.3% for the USA,

5.8% for Germany and worldwide, and 5.9% for the CEPI countries.

These higher values compared to paper production imply an increasing relevance

of recovered paper in the selected regions.

1150 1 Introduction

1 Introduction

0

20

40

60

80

100

1961 1970 1980 1990 2002

Recovered paper utilization and paper production, 106 tons

Recovered paper utilization

Paper production

Germany

CEPI

CEPI

USA

USA

Fig. 1.2 Development of recovered paper utilization

and paper production in the USA, the CEPI countries,

and Germany between 1961 and 2002 [1–4,7].

Recovered paper use is most attractive in densely populated regions with a high

paper consumption per capita, where the so-called “urban forest” growth occurs.

The region must also have a paper industry with sufficient technology and a long

tradition in recycled fiber processing. The most prominent regions are Japan and

Europe outside Scandinavia. Recovered paper is not the only material increasingly

collected and reused in developed countries. National recycling management,

enforced by legal measures, encourages the population to collect metal, glass, and

plastics also. Consumers in many countries participate in recycling; in this way

they are involved as consumers of commodities while producing secondary raw

materials for reuse.

Cost competition and the legal requirements in many countries primarily promote

the use of recovered paper. The impact of environmentalists through “green”

movements and the level of acceptance in the market of paper made from recycled

fibers are additional driving forces that vary by country. Recovered paper use is an

environmentally friendly issue according to the recycled fiber processing paper

industry, environmentalists, governmental authorities, and often even the marketplace.

It is accepted that recycling preserves forest resources and energy used for

production of mechanical pulps for paper manufacturing. Additionally, recovery

and recycling of used paper products avoids unnecessary landfilling.

The processing of recycled products requires relatively little fresh water per ton

of paper produced. However, the solid waste rejects and sludge (e.g., deinking

sludge) from recovered paper processing mills typically present a problem. The

rate of formation of such residues is between 5% and 40%, depending on the

recovered paper grade processed and the paper grade produced. The average rate

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