Aylesford Newsprint hopes to be exempted from Climate Change Levy after its annual health and safety report for 2000 showed great strides in productivity and reducing its impact on the environment.

The Kent-based facility produced 398,000 tonnes last year, about 7.5% above the mills capacity. It has also set a world record for production efficiency on its PM14 papermaking machine.

In a statement, Aylesford newsprint chief executive Alan McKendrick said the company had significantly developed its health and safety performance.

On 1 January of this year the firm adopted a new health and safety policy that pledges to comply with relevant legislation as a bare minimum.

McKendrick said: The Climate Change Levy has the potential to have significant negative impact on the profitability of papermaking. However, the government has provided that good quality combined heat and power installations be exempted. It is expected that our plant will meet the criteria and qualify.

Aylesford Newsprint has already implemented the ECs Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control measures.

The mill is licensed to take water from groundwater bore wells, the Ditton stream and the River Medway. The mills water treatment plant discharged 5.3m cubic metres of water into the Medway last year, which was cleaner than the river water.

Story by John Davies