New BIR Report Spotlights Vital Role of Recovered Fibre

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The new report published by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) highlighted the fundamental importance of recovered fibre and free trade. Despite several challenges on account of Covid-19 pandemic, recovered fibre built upon its pivotal role in global paper and board production in 2020.

In its report titled “Paper and board recycling in 2020: Overview of world statistics”, BIR noted that worldwide paper and board production had recorded a decline by 3.4% in 2020. At the same time, the decline in recovered paper production was at a significantly smaller rate of 1.6%. Also, 52.2% of all the paper and board production used recovered fibers in 2020, as compared with 51.2% in the year before that.

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The global recovered fiber production dipped from 244 million metric tons in 2019 to just below 240 million tons in 2020. Asian region accounted for 43.8% of global recovered paper production. Europe accounted for 27%, whereas the share by the U.S. and Canada stood below 20%.

Francisco Donoso, President, BIR Paper Division noted that the recovered paper industry continued to play its essential role in supplying the world paper and board industry with specification raw material, even during the pandemic time.

In order for recovered paper usage to achieve its full potential, free international trade must be encouraged, BIR report said.