Special Feature

Circular Cardboard is born, an initiative to ensure correct management, recycling and sustainability

  • Circular Cardboard is born, a SCRAP that ensures the correct management and recycling of industrial cardboard packaging.
  • Circular Cardboard ensures compliance with national and European regulations for the entire value chain of industrial cardboard packaging.
  • The system will ensure the recycling and sustainability of cardboard packaging in the industry.
  • One of the objectives of the system is to preserve the current relationships between the producer and manager of industrial waste.

The main associations of the industrial cardboard packaging value chain formed by AFCO (Spanish Association of Manufacturers of corrugated cardboard containers and packaging), ASPACK (Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Containers, Packaging and Cardboard Processing), ASPAPEL (Spanish Association of Pulp, Paper and Cardboard Manufacturers) and Repcar (Spanish Association of Paper and Cardboard Recyclers), join forces to create Circular Cardboard, the SCRAP (Collective System of Extended Producer Responsibility) dedicated to ensuring the correct management and recycling of cardboard packaging in the industry.

With the launch of this project, the paper industry intends to comply with national and European regulations for all agents in the packaging value chain, including packers. All this, in a context in which legislative pressure pushes companies and industries to prioritize ecodesign policies, to minimize environmental impacts and ensure compliance with the collection and recycling targets imposed on the sector.

New legislative obligations for industrial packaging.

With the approval of the Royal Decree on Packaging and Packaging Waste 1055/2022, industrial packaging is required to be managed under an Extended Producer Responsibility System that ensures its management and meets the collection and recycling objectives imposed by the standard.

A simple, organized and committed solution.

Circular Cardboard aspires to manage all the cardboard waste generated in the different industries of our country with the support and commitment of the entire paper value chain.

A simple solution, tailored to the new legislation, which demonstrates the industry’s commitment to sustainability and the recycling of materials.

Paper and cardboard packaging enjoy the highest recycling rates.

Paper and cardboard packaging is manufactured with a renewable, recyclable raw material that is massively recycled, 82% in 2020 according to Eurostat. For this reason, the sector is committed to and works intensely on the circularity of its packaging and its sustainability.

The cardboard box, the most sustainable packaging solution.

The cardboard packaging has multiple benefits such as the ease of printing it, its comfortable handling, its versatility and it is one of the most sustainable solutions as it is manufactured from renewable or recycled materials. In addition, once used, it is effectively recovered thanks to the commitment of all those involved in its management and recycling chain.

Thus, a SCRAP for industrial paper and cardboard packaging is not only positive for the fiber packaging sector to continue leading the industry towards a circular economy, but it will also be beneficial for the competitiveness of the sector and its commitment to The sustainability.

To deepen this initiative, next April the industrial cardboard packaging value chain will organize an event whose call will be announced shortly.

Declarations:

“Circular Cardboard will allow the obligations derived from the Extended Producer Responsibility (RAP) to be fulfilled through the manufacturers of the containers, freeing the rest of the business fabric from that obligation”,Leopoldo Santorromán, president of AFCO.

“A powerful solution, tailored to the new legislation, which demonstrates the commitment of an essential and consolidated industry that, thanks to its innovation efforts in recent years, has reduced its carbon footprint by 24% since 2018”,José Ramón Benito, president of ASPACK.

“Circular Cardboard goes beyond demonstrating the organizational capacity of the members of the value chain, it will be an essential tool to ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of industrial cardboard packaging,”Eduardo Querol, president of ASPAPEL.

“One of the objectives of Cardón Circular is to maintain the current management model for this waste that works very effectively, preserving the relationship between the producer of the waste and the manager. Including new agents in the management could hinder the process”,Manuel Fernández, president of REPACAR.

About ASPAPEL

ASPAPEL (Spanish Association of Pulp, Paper and Cardboard Manufacturers) is a state-wide professional organization that brings together companies in the pulp and paper sector. Associated companies account for more than 90% of the sector’s production. The objective of the association is to contribute to the competitive and sustainable development of the associated companies and to the promotion of the image of the sector, its companies and products.

The paper and cardboard industry in Spain exceeds a turnover of 3,981 million euros per year, produces 6.3 million tons of paper and 1.7 million tons of pulp. It directly employs more than 16,637 professionals and 80,000 indirectly, and has positioned Spain as the second country in the European Union with the highest rate of paper and cardboard recycling (data as of the year ended 2022).

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