Waste Recycling Report Footnote 069

Annex C16: Newspapers, magazines and direct mail

Definitions and rationale

1. The  Government  has  already  concluded  voluntary  producer  responsibility  agreements  to promote,  in  particular,  increased  recycling  of  newspapers,  magazines  and  direct  mail  with  the Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA), the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) respectively. These three waste streams are estimated to amount to about 3.6 million tonnes (which would equate to about 14% of total household waste). All three aim to increase recycling with targets for either recycled content or amount of waste recycled.
2. Paper has been identified as a material where reduced waste and greater recycling can yield significant environmental benefits. For every tonne of paper waste diverted from landfill and recycled,

1.4 tonnes of CO equivalent emissions are saved.[1]

2

3. If,  as  anticipated,  the  voluntary  producer  responsibility  agreements  are  subsumed  into  an umbrella paper agreement, there should be similar improvements in recycling rates and in paper use in the wider paper industry.[2]

Arisings, trends and projections

4. Overall, it is estimated that total paper/board waste arisings in the UK amount to 13.7 million tonnes (see Annex D).

Table C16.1: Estimated total tonnages of newspapers, magazines and direct mail waste arisings and the proportions that arise in the household waste stream

Newspapers

5. Around 2.5 million tonnes is consumed each year in the UK with about 1.1 million tonnes produced here. The amount of material used depends on circulation figures and industry developments related to consumer demand, such as the growth in the free newspaper market or introduction of new supplements. Newsprint production has been steadily increasing over the past 15 years, but it is not clear whether this trend will continue as technology and the internet play an increasing part in the distribution of information.

Chart C16.1: Newsprint production and consumption, UK (1990–2005)

3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500

1,000

500 Production Consumption

0

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Source: Confederation of Paper Industries.

Magazines

6. An estimated 744,000 tonnes[1] of magazines enter circulation annually, 91% of which is paper, the remainder being glue and plastic. Of the magazine paper that is not retained by the consumer and arises as post-consumer waste paper, around one-third (175,000 tonnes) is recycled.[2] Changes in the amount of waste arisings will depend on consumer choice and the number of titles on the market.

Direct mail

7. Direct marketing and promotions (DM&P) is a general term for all direct marketing material. This is  sub-divided  into  direct  mail  (addressed),  door-to-door  deliveries  (unaddressed)  and  inserts  (in magazines, newspapers, etc.). Table C16.2 below shows estimated arisings in 2005/06. It is estimated that direct mail can make up about 2% of a household's waste.
8. Since the DMA agreement was signed in 2003 there has been a 5% drop in the amount of addressed direct mail, partly through the promotion of the Mailing Preference Service (MPS). However, volumes of unaddressed mail (including inserts in magazines and newspapers) appear to be increasing at a rate of 1–2% per year and registration with the MPS does not prevent delivery of unaddressed mail. The DMA has agreed to develop an opt-out service for unaddressed mail along the lines of the MPS to improve the targeting of this marketing material. This will be developed on a voluntary basis in the context of the existing agreement. Government will also be exploring with the DMA whether an opt-in system would be an appropriate mechanism to further reduce unnecessary direct mail.

Table C16.2: Estimated DM&P arisings in 2005/06

Source: DMA.

Management routes

Newspapers

9. The NPA implements the requirements of the voluntary agreement through its membership. The primary focus of this agreement is to increase the recycled content of newsprint and thereby increase recycling. This agreement also provides a benefit to the wider paper industry by creating a large and growing demand for recovered fibre.
10. The nature of recovered fibre means it can only be reprocessed a certain number of times before the fibres become too short to be usefully reprocessed. Paper mills require a mix of fibre lengths in order to produce paper of a quality that is in demand. Increasing the volume of newsprint that is sent for recycling could affect this mix and have knock-on effects in terms of the maximum recycled content of newsprint. This will be taken into account when considering future targets with the industry.

Magazines and direct mail

11. Most magazine and DM&P waste arises in the household waste stream. There are established routes for the collection and reprocessing for waste paper including both independent and integrated waste paper collectors, waste management companies and the paper mills. There is also an export market for paper recycling. In practice, it is local authorities (or waste management companies acting on their behalf) that collect this type of waste. Sorting can be done prior to, or at, the paper mill.

Policies and targets

Newspapers

12. The targets in the agreement with the NPA required recycled content of newsprint to reach 70% by the end of 2006. The recycled content of newsprint in 2006 was roughly 80.6%, which equates to a demand for some 1.9 million tonnes of recovered fibre.

Magazines

13. On 17 November 2005 the Government signed a voluntary agreement with the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA), which represents 90% of publishers in the UK by turnover. The agreement aims to increase the rate of post consumer magazine recycling through a number of initiatives. The PPA have agreed to raise recycling levels to:

• 50% by 2007;

• 60% by 2010; and

• 70% by 2013.

14. As part of the agreement, the PPA will:

• work with local authorities with an aim to increase the rate of magazine recycling;

• provide advertising and editorial space for promoting magazine recycling initiatives;

• use the recycle now logo in a prominent place in magazines. The target for this logo is 95% of PPA membership by the end of 2006;

• work with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on a study into barriers to using recycled content in magazines.

15. The first progress report from the PPA indicates recycling of post consumer magazines was 45% in 2005, an increase of 4% from 2004.
16. WRAP estimate that the proportion of current UK production printed on recycled content papers is only 1 to 3%. A recent report for WRAP, undertaken as part of the study into barriers mentioned above, concluded that there are significant opportunities to increase the use of recycled content papers in the magazine industry and it identified categories of magazines where those opportunities are strongest.[3]With funding from the Government's Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Programme (BREW), WRAP is now undertaking phase 2 of this study, with a steering team which includes the PPA and others. Phase 2 will run commercial trials and develop case studies. The aim is to arm publishers with the practical information and confidence needed to increase their use of recycled content.

Direct mail

17. The intention behind the agreement with the DMA is to encourage a generally more sustainable approach to direct marketing material, including minimisation of waste and the achievement of recycling targets. The targets the DMA have to reach are:

• recycling of direct mail to reach

– 30% by the end of 2005;

– 55% by the end of 2009; and

– 70% by the end of 2013.

18. The producer responsibility agreement also requires the DMA to:

• ensure that its members maximise the use of recycled paper;

• ensure that its members use materials that do not contaminate the recycling process; and

• improve the targeting of direct mail and promotions material and report back on the progress achieved after each target year.

19. The recycling rate in 2005 was 28%, so the target was just missed. However, this figure does not take account of direct mail and promotions material recycled through bring recycling and civic amenity sites, but some 80,000 tonnes per annum less material went to landfill. At the same time, increased promotion of the Mailing Preference Service (MPS), a suppression service that allows households to opt out of receiving addressed mail, has seen awareness increase by about 7% and registrations more than double since the agreement came into effect. This has helped deliver a drop of around 5% in the amount of unwanted addressed mail distributed since 2003. The DMA also developed a contact database for local authorities to assist them with their campaigns and over 80 local authorities now have details of MPS on their websites.

Implementation and timescales

20. Timing for the achievement of targets is set out above.
21. The NPA agreement will be reviewed after a final report in 2007.
22. The PPA agreement will be monitored throughout its lifetime and revisited after 2013.
23. The DMA agreement will be reviewed at intermediate stages to ensure that the DMA is on course to achieve the agreement's objectives and its future status will be determined by the time it expires in 2013.
24. Consideration will also be given to the longer term content of the agreements, including whether further recycling targets (levels of recycling and recycled content) should be considered, or whether instead there should be a move to be part of a general "paper" agreement (e.g. with newsprint, direct mail, packaging papers and other, e.g. office papers) or whether the agreements should focus on carbon emissions as well as or instead of recycling targets. The options will be discussed with the industry.

Roles and responsibilities

Table C16.3: Roles and responsibilities

Infrastructure and capacity needs

25. There is sufficient paper reprocessing capacity available for the tonnages of waste direct mail, newsprint and magazines that are being produced but this includes the option of export for recycling. Within the UK, paper reprocessing capacity is close to the maximum unless new mills are established but the market for recovered paper to be recycled overseas is still growing (e.g. in south Asia and China), although it cannot be guaranteed that market demand will remain.

References and other information

Defra voluntary agreements www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/paper.htm

The Direct Marking Association www.dma.org.uk

The Mailing Preference Service www.mpsonline.org.uk

Periodical Publishers Association www.ppa.co.uk