Its annual report has also listed the UK as the largest net exporter of recovered paper.

The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), one of the declaration's main signatories, said that despite excellent progress the industry had made, significant challenges had yet to be met.

CEPI recycling committee chairman Henri Vermeulen said the European industry also needed to focus on the quality of paper it collects and the volume of recovered paper it requires to reach the target for 2005.

The declaration was adopted in 2000 when the industry set itself a voluntary target to raise the recycling rate in Europe to 56% by 2005.

With this target likely to be achieved, measures are being put in place to use the recovered paper material to its full extent, with further investment across Europe being considered.

According to CEPI, the latest figures are impressive because paper consumption increased by 5.5% over the same period. This effectively means a far greater amount of paper is now being recovered and used.

The UK has emerged as the biggest exporter of recovered paper, underlining the need for new capacity in the UK, (PrintWeek, 30 September) with some 1.8m tonnes being exported in 2003, out of 6.3m tonnes collected.

China, with its ever-growing investments in new paper recycling capacity, remains the largest importer of recovered paper from Europe.

Recovered paper use rose steadily in 2003 by 0.6% to 43.7m tonnes.

Story by Andy Scott