The paper route The Netherlands, the recycling country. Particularly when it comes to paper. Our country collects and recycles 85% of the old paper into new paper, making us the European recycling champion. So what happens to all that paper? And how sustainable is recycling? We talk to Smurfit Kappa Recycling Roermond and follow the paper route.
aper fibres can be recycled up to seven times. That makes the process circular and sustainable in nature. Still, there’s always room for improvement and that starts with the use of paper.” Claire Schreurs is a sustainability manager at Smurfit Kappa Recycling Roermond and responsible for developing vision and policy in the fields of energy and sustainability. In short, she converts ideas into specific plans to realise a fully circular economy. And that starts with the smart use of raw materials. “A good way for companies to reduce their footprint is to simply use less paper. Because recycling also costs energy, water and raw materials. It’s good to see Holbox using paper sparingly. The use of waste is kept to a minimum through clever design and the cardboard flower is a very creative and effective solution for the reuse of waste.”
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DISPOSAL OF PAPER The leftover paper waste finds its way to Smurfit Kappa Recycling, Roermond. There, the cardboard is separated from other paper and is taken to Smurfit Kappa Roermond paper, where it serves as a raw material for new paper. An age-old process using modern technology. “Holbox’s old paper is dissolved in water to release the paper fibres and make the pulp transportable”, Claire explains. “This is followed by various cleaning steps to remove non-paper materials such as paperclips, staples, stones or even sand. We try to efficiently extract these materials - or rejects – from our raw materials in the cleanest, most uniform way, so 99% of the material we receive is given a useful destination. This is not only sustainable, but also saves costs. Because if it’s not affordable, it won’t work. Ultimately, the pulp arrives at the paper machine
