Paper industry applaud decision to defend recycling
The European paper industry warmly welcomes today's decision by the European Parliament to block proposed legislation which would have had the effect of classifying waste paper as "recycled" paper before it has been recycled.
"We are glad to see the European Parliament remembered that the original purpose of defining when something is no longer to be considered a waste was to facilitate recycling not to obstruct it," comments Teresa Presas, CEPI Director General, on the outcome in Strasbourg.
"If this proposal had become law it would also have burdened the global environment with needless additional energy use and emissions. It's a good decision.”
If this legislation had passed, it would have relaxed the EU's waste management rules and triggered a flight of waste paper out of the EU to Asia, pushing up prices in Europe and undermining the quality of waste paper available for the European recycling sector, says CEPI.