PH developing standards for paper recycling

Making available renewable raw material for writing, printing, packaging

A bureau under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has started developing standards for recovered paper (RCP), a source of renewable raw material, aiming to improve its acceptability for use and transport across border.

RCP is an important source of renewable raw material for the paper industry, said the DTI’s Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS). Local mills process RCP materials into new paper products.

The recycled paper is commonly used for writing, printing and packaging such as paper bags, corrugated box and folding boxboard, among others.

The reuse of RCPs significantly reduces the generation of municipal solid waste that ends up in landfills. It also conserves natural resources as it reduces the number of trees being cut down, DTI-BPS said.

Locally, the production and use of RCPs are well-established and widely accepted. In the past 10 years, RCP accounted for up to 90 percent of the fiber materials used by the paper industry. The materials are locally collected through junk shops, materials recovery facilities and RCP consolidators or traders.

Recycling challenges

The necessary technologies are available, according to the DTI-BPS, and it is possible to produce all types and qualities of paper using RCP as raw material. However, due to typhoons and the pandemic, the members of the paper manufacturing industry are having a difficult time sourcing local RCP.

The current supply of RCP available from local recycling activities is not sufficient to meet the current and longterm demands for paper-making fiber in terms of volume and quality—causing the industry to resort to importation to prevent the mills from shutting down.

Furthermore, despite being a feedstock material and an intermediate product commodity, RCP is subject to preprocessing operations before being traded in the international market.

The lack of standards and regulations governing imported RCP results in the confiscation or holding up of shipment once identified as municipal waste or hazardous material, DTI-BPS said.

Such RCP importations are reported as “hazardous or municipal waste for disposal in PH.” They are being seized and the proponents charged with violation of the regulations of Bureau of Customs and Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thus, to fulfill the need to clarify and identify RCP as a renewable raw material and not as waste, the DTI-BPS has developed and promulgated the Philippine National Standards 2162:2021 and 2163:2021 which specify the requirements for the evaluation of the acceptability of old corrugated cartons and mixed recovered paper.