Paper Recycling for a Sustainable Tomorrow: STADLER’s Insights
There has never been a greater need for environmentally friendly packaging options, especially in the food sector where customers are gravitating toward goods that make environmental commitments. Due to both commercial forces and regulatory requirements, this tendency has caused a notable shift towards packaging made of paper. The market for paper packaging is estimated to increase at compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 4.8% and 3.9%, respectively, by 2030, reaching USD 97.6 billion in Europe and USD 75.64 billion in North America in 2025. Due to customer preferences and sustainability objectives, the food industry is leading this change, with liquid cartons emerging as one of the package options with the quickest rate of growth.
Even though paper solutions are being adopted quickly, a significant volume of paper is still not recycled, particularly from mixed waste streams. According to studies, Germany’s lightweight packaging trash alone has the potential to produce over 100,000 tons of high-quality paper a year. However, this resource is mostly unrealized because of a number of enduring issues. The technical viability of recycling paper from mixed trash has advanced significantly thanks to the EnEWA project, a joint venture between STADLER Anlagenbau GmbH, academic institutions, and other industry experts. However, there are regulatory barriers that need to be removed in order to fully realize this potential.
The Rising Challenge of Paper-based Packaging
Paper packaging is becoming increasingly popular in the food business due to consumer demand and environmental concerns. Businesses are making significant investments in environmentally friendly paper solutions, and innovations like Pulpex’s paper bottles created from wood pulp that is supplied sustainably demonstrate the industry’s dedication to minimizing its environmental impact. Even with these developments, recycling paper is still a challenging problem, especially when it comes to composite packaging.
Multiple layers of materials, such as paper, plastic, and aluminum, are combined to create composite packaging, which is frequently used in food goods. Because these layers are challenging to separate, recycling is a labor-intensive and potentially contaminated procedure. Additionally, consumers may find some of the new composite packages puzzling since they may look like they are made entirely of paper, but they actually comprise layers of other materials. Even while technology developments have showed promise, there are still many obstacles because of the regulatory framework.
The Regulatory Hurdle
The regulatory landscape is designed to ensure the safety and quality of recycled materials used in food contact applications, though approaches vary. EU regulations are prescriptive, requiring detailed testing, documentation, and often pre-market authorisation, reflecting a precautionary approach to ensure consumer safety. Germany’s BfR Recommendation XXXVI, although officially a guideline, imposes strict criteria to minimise contamination risks, effectively restricting the use of recycling paper from mixed streams for food applications, influencing industry practices and contractual agreements.
Regulations in other EU countries, such as Italy and Spain, are less prescriptive but still demand a high level of scrutiny on the sources of recycled fibres, posing challenges for using mixed waste paper in food packaging, reflecting a broader European commitment to maintaining safety in recycled materials. Scandinavian nations comply with EU regulations while adding national guidelines to address specific regional concerns, ensuring high consumer safety. North American regulations, on the other hand, focus more on general safety and good manufacturing practices, allowing more flexibility but placing greater responsibility on manufacturers to ensure compliance.
“The EnEWA project has shown that with the right technological adjustments, such as improved sorting and sanitisation processes, high-quality paper can be recycled from mixed waste streams,” explains Annika Ludes, Product Engineer at STADLER. “However, to fully realize this potential, changes in the regulatory landscape are essential. Amendments to guidelines like the BfR Recommendation XXXVI could pave the way for more sustainable use of recycled paper in the food industry.”
The EnEWA Project’s Contributions
The EnEWA project has provided compelling evidence that recycling paper from mixed waste is technically feasible. The project demonstrated that through innovative sorting technologies and adapted processes with dry-mechanical sorting, wet processing, and sanitization, secondary fibres could be obtained and used in paper production without significant contamination issues. Special sorting technologies, like Near-Infrared (NIR) sensors, were optimised to identify and separate composites. Additionally, processes like hot dispersion under overpressure proved successful in reducing microbiological contamination.
Beyond technological advancements, the EnEWA project has engaged with regulatory authorities, advocating for updates to waste management guidelines and amendments to restrictive regulations. It has developed recommendations towards a more flexible regulatory approach, especially for applications outside the food sector or for dry food packaging, backed by scientific data from worst-case scenario experiments. The project has also held workshops involving representatives from stakeholders including the packaging industry, sorting facility operators and paper recyclers.
The Future of Paper Recycling
While the EnEWA project has concluded, its legacy continues. STADLER, now an associated partner in the SPaRe project, is working to further enhance the energy efficiency of the paper recycling cycle. This initiative aims to optimise the utilisation of residual materials in paper production, potentially saving 1 TWh of energy annually – equivalent to 1.6% of the annual energy consumption of the paper industry – and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 350,000 tons of CO2 equivalents per year.
By demonstrating that there is technology to recycle large quantities of paper from mixed waste, the EnEWA project has brought attention to the unrealized potential of paper recycling. To fully realize this potential, though, a determined effort is needed to remove legal restrictions and enhance waste management procedures. By tackling these issues, we can transform what is presently a wasted resource into a vital component of sustainable packaging, propelling the sector toward a more ecologically friendly and circular future.
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