The impact of waste paper on the production of packaging paper

Waste paper is considered an important source of material for 70% of paper production in Vietnam, including wrapping paper. Therefore, it is highly desirable to overcome the difficulties associated with imported waste paper.

Challenge: Collecting waste paper only meets 15-20% of demand

Many paper scraps, such as mixed paper, one of the important materials for producing wrappers, can now stand outside from the imported entry list. This is a huge challenge for the industry because about 70% of the paper is produced from waste paper.

The current situation shows that the collection of paper scraps can meet the needs of 15-20%, and the rest must be imported. At the same time, the workshop to amend decision 73/2014/Q-TTg provided for the import of wastes imported from abroad as a raw material for production, including the proposal to eliminate waste paper of HS 47079000 – commonly known as mixed paper, which is the production of wrapping paper for enterprises. An important source of raw materials (cardboard, corrugated iron...).

Demand for domestically consumed and export-grown packaging paper is high, about 15% per year, which is the highest number of papers of many types. Therefore, if the mixed paper is excluded from the list of materials imported from abroad, it will have a major impact on the enterprises that produce the wrapping paper. Usually, the raw materials are not produced, the production cost increases, and the efficiency of the enterprise decreases. “According to the data for the first six months of 2018, the total amount of imported waste paper accounts for 37% of the total, and in 2018 it is expected to reach about 2 million tons. If so, the damage is about $37 million.”, Pham Dinh Thuong said - policy analysis experts.

There is a need to “understand” dialogue between national management and the business community.

Many experts said that it is necessary to tighten the management of imported waste at this time, especially when some enterprises use the blank of import management of waste materials in the past to import “garbage” into Vietnam and affect the environment. However, waste paper groups such as mixed paper are still an important manufacturing material for the industry. Therefore, Pan Zhidong, former Minister of Industry and Trade of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said: "This decision may pose potential problems for the development of the paper industry, especially for many related production and services."

The company said that the mixed paper that is now entering the paper mill will undergo a rigorous process and the waste will be put into the boiler. At the same time, the technology in the bleaching process has undergone different changes, from traditional materials to other materials, the waste of the environment has been greatly reduced.