Just 14.5% of the UK's household waste is recycled. The campaign will aim to raise this to 25% by the end of 2005.

Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) director of external affairs Kathy Bradley backed the call for more recycling capacity in the UK. "We are one of the largest exporters of paper for recycling, with China being one of the largest receivers," she said.

An industry source said it would be a logical step to provide more UK capacity if the amount of material for recycling increased.

Bradley agreed and named  Aylesford News-print as a likely site for greater capacity. Aylesford finance director Ian Broxup said although there were no plans in place for additional capacity, the firm would keep an eye on the market.

"Having the paper supply in place is just one part of any project," he said. The Kent-based news-print producer was originally selected as preferred bidder in WRAP's competition to increase for newsprint reprocessing capacity in 2002.

WRAP changed its mind and preferred status was awarded to UPM's Shotton Paper mill in Deeside (PrintWeek, 18 January 2002).

Despite the high recyclability of paper, the UK has a fairly low paper recovery rate only 47.8%,  compared to an average of 55.75% in Europe.

Story by Andy Scott