Global production of recovered fibre fell from just over 250 million tonnes in 2018 to less than 244 million tonnes in 2019, according to a report from BIR.
However, global production of paper and board using recovered fibre held steady at just below 211 million tonnes.
These findings are in the BIR Paper Division’s annual report Paper and Board Recycling in 2019: Overview of World Statistics.
The report explores production and use of recovered fibre, as well as international trade flows, and pulp and paper/board market information.
BIR Paper Division president and France-based Paprec chief executive Jean-Luc Petithuguenin said: “2019 brought an increase in the proportion of the world’s paper and board that was made from recovered fibre – 50.27% in 2018 to 51.15% the following year.”
He added that Europe shipped more recovered fibre to India in 2019 than it did to China ahead of the latter bringing in import restrictions.
“None of us would have anticipated [that] only a handful of years ago,” he said.
In 2019, markets such as Vietnam emerged, while established buyers such as India and Indonesia continued to have a strong presence.
