End of waste Paper and Cardboard: how waste becomes resources

Environment Italian Minister Sergio Costa has signed the regulation that marks the End of Waste regarding the life cycle of paper and cardboard.

The minister himself stated that “the End of Waste is an indispensable element for enhancing the potential of waste and can make a strong contribution to developing the potential of the recycling sector”.

This material, in fact, is less and less assimilated to a waste, and more and more to a real resource to be recovered for the production of new paper and corrugated cardboard.

The measure was developed following numerous technical meetings. Before the regulation was issued, in fact, consultations were held with ISPRA, the technical body of the Ministry of the Environment, and sector operators.

The meetings were also held with the ISS representatives for the assessment of the impacts on the environment and human health.

What does the regulation establish?

The regulation establishes the methods and criteria in which the planned actions must be taken to ensure that paper and cardboard cease to be waste and become resources for the creation of new material.

The regulation is divided into seven articles which have the task of defining the areas of application and three annexes.

• In Annex 1 you can read the general criteria for the termination of the qualification of paper and cardboard waste. The content contains an explicit reference to the UNI EN 643 standard.

• Annex 2, on the other hand, identifies the specific purposes according to which the recovered paper and cardboard can be used.

• Finally, Annex 3 shows the model of the declaration of conformity (DDC), which has been prepared in the form of a declaration in lieu of affidavit.

The latter must bear the manufacturer’s personal data in addition to the declarations, always by the manufacturer, on the characteristics of the recovered paper and cardboard.

What is the importance of paper recovery?

Waste paper can be reused as a raw material, either in the manufacture of paper and corrugated cardboard, or for the paper industry, and for industries that use the UNI EN 643 standard as a reference.

All this involves an important step forward in the responsible management of resources, in extending the life of the materials which are released into the environment and in creating an additional source from which to obtain the raw material.

We must remember that the paper recovery and restarting sector in the production environment, acts as a driving force for circularity processes.

In our country, in fact, the recovery of recycled fiber accounts for 60% of paper production. In the packaging sector, the recycling rate has reached the considerable percentage of 80%, placing the country ahead of the European directives, which require by 2030 to reach the 85% recovery threshold. In addition, the recycling of paper allows to drastically reduce the waste that is then sent to landfills.

The experience of CART-ONE, which has always been committed to making its production processes of paper and corrugated cardboard boxes increasingly virtuous and environmentally friendly, fits into this framework, so as to confirm itself as a leading player in area of ​​the circular economy.