The paper industry has exceeded Defra’s proposed 2010 and 2012 recycling targets by already achieving a rate of over 80%, according to the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI).

But it warns that the biggest risk to meeting future targets is caused by the UK paper recovery industry currently exporting 50% of the material collected.

The CPI suggests that the paper industry’s existing high recycling rate is a reflection of growing demand for the substrate rather than the government-set targets.