In its 2010 Annual Review, the CPI said there was a modest return to growth for paper and board consumption in 2010, with demand rising by 1.2% to 10.6m tonnes compared to 10.4m in 2009, but well below the 11.4m tonnes consumed in 2008.

The sector also made "significant improvements" in energy efficiency and carbon reduction, while the number of accidents in the sector "reduced significantly".

There was only one mill closure in 2010, with AbitibiBowater appointing Ernst & Young as administrator at its Bridgewater Paper Company subsidiary in February last year. 

New mill start-ups in the UK in the past year include the new Palm Paper mill, while a new SAICA mill is also on its way, with operation due to begin in Feburary 2012.

Nick Langdon, CPI's statistics manager, said: "The statistics in CPI's 2010 Annual Review are pretty steady, with no major surprises.

"2009 was a very, very bad year, and the UK in particular has been one of the slowest European countries to emerge from the recession."

The UK's domestic usage of recovered paper fell in 2010 by a further 1.5% or a further 55,000 tonnes to 3.8m tonnes.

However, throughout 2010, the UK continued to rely heavily on export markets, particularly the Far East, for paper and board recycling.

Langdon said: "Imports into the UK grew very well, so a lot of the growth we have seen is due to better imports."

Some 54% of used paper and board collected in the UK was sent overseas for recycling, with 77% of exports sent to the Far East, including 61% to China alone. 

CPI said this was significantly down on the 2009 numbers, when 85% of exports went to the Far East, including 62% to China.

This change was credited to increased European demand for UK recovered paper and board with mainland Europe increasing its imports from 14% in 2009 to 22% for 2010.