Paper Recycling : New Swedish waste paper stream to Germany

Growing demand for recovered waste paper (RCP) in Germany has made the country the most important off-taker market in Europe. This has opened for import from several countries, and Geminor is now focusing on the waste paper surplus in Sweden, explains Geminor Country Manager, Per Mernelius: "With roughly 75 percent of the waste paper being collected and sorted, Sweden is on top among the European countries. This gives us a very good starting point for creating a functional stream of waste paper from Sweden to receiving markets such as Germany."

Also the conditions for waste paper export are improving in Sweden: "From 1. January 2022, the municipalities in Sweden will have the ownership and responsibility for the disposal of Swedish waste paper, a new regulation that will create a more open market situation", says Mernelius.

The paper industry mainly consists of three product lines: graphic paper for printing, production for paper for packaging, and the tissue industry. The packaging industry is the key driver and the most important off-taker in the German market at the moment, explains Yasser Ismail, waste paper expert and account manager at Geminor DE: "The recycling of waste paper will grow considerably in the EU, and Germany alone will lack about 4,1 million tons of recovered paper from 2024 on. New paper mills for the production of packaging are being established – mills that need waste paper such as cardboard, cartons, and mixed paper."

The shortage of hauler services in Europe is becoming an issue for the industry, which up until now mainly has depended upon road transport. However, the export of RDF and SRF on rails from Germany to Sweden is a Geminor service that now is creating synergies. "We have an ambition of moving more of our waste transport to rails, which proves to be the most sustainable transport alternative in Europe today. The rail transport of residual waste fuels to Sweden gives us the opportunity of sending waste paper as return transport to Germany. This is both a sensible and cost-efficient alternative that reduces CO2 emissions", says Per Mernelius.

Established in Norway in 2004, Geminor is an international recycling company focusing on refuse-derived fuel (RDF), solid recovered fuel (SRF), recycled waste wood, hazardous waste for energy recovery and paper & cardboard, plastic, and other types of waste for material recycling in the European market. Geminor has logistic hubs and offices in Scandinavia, Finland, UK, Germany, France, Poland, and Italy, and employs 80 professionals. The company handled more than 1,7 million tonnes of feedstock in 2020 and holds contracts with more than 350 waste producers and 180 waste-to-energy and recycling facilities. Geminor has an annual turnover of approx.155 million Euro