Paper, Cardboard & Wood Recycling Rates
Paper, cardboard and wood are all used to create packaging. Originating from trees, they each provide a natural packaging material that can be recycled and will biodegrade. As brands move toward circular thinking, how do the recycling rates compare?
Paper & Cardboard Recycling
Paper and cardboard account for the highest volume of packaging produced in the UK. Cardboard boxes for shipping and retail packaging have proved a popular option, as the material is lightweight, easy to print, low cost and versatile. It is also widely known that paper and cardboard can be produced from recycled fibres. What’s more, it is easy to recycle via roadside collections.
Once recycled, more paper and cardboard can be produced from the fibres within weeks. It is a circular process, which greatly reduces our reliance on raw materials.
The UK recycling target for paper and cardboard is 83% and in the latest Statista data*, we still have a way to go to achieve this. The current recycling rate is around 71%, despite cardboard and paper being widely recycled. Changes to packaging design and clear information on the packaging are just two of the ways to reach the goal.
Recycling Wooden Crates & Pallets
Pallets and crates are widely used packaging options, providing a strong and resilient solution. They support heavy weights and are stackable, which has many benefits for warehousing and shipping. Pallets are designed to be manoeuvred using forklifts, which aid loading, storage and display. As a packaging material, wood is more often used for B2B purposes, rather than in customer packaging.
When sent to be recycled, it is graded. Higher quality timber is repurposed, whilst lower grades are typically chipped, to be used in building materials, landscaping, animal bedding and as biomass fuel.
Collections of wooden crates and pallets for recycling have to be arranged, they are not part of kerbside services. This might explain why the target for wood recycling is just 35%. However, the industry is consistently exceeding this target, reaching around 60% recycling rate in 2022.
The Wood Recyclers Association (WRA) is asking the Environment Agency to raise the target**. The benefit of this would be more support for services that reprocess wood and support a circular economy.
Packaging Recycling or Reuse?
Whilst recycling paper, cardboard and wood is a positive environmental step, manufacturers, packaging suppliers and retailers have a responsibility to reduce packaging waste. Rethinking packaging design to reduce the volume of material used and actively encouraging packaging reuse are essential if we are to move closer to net zero.
* https://www.statista.com/statistics/476098/packaging-waste-and-reclycing-uk/
**https://www.circularonline.co.uk/news/wra-calls-for-higher-packaging-recycling-targets-for-wood/
