Clear calls to postpone use of the new EU Digital Waste Shipment System (DIWASS) by at least six months, and for European leaders to engage with the recovered paper sector on new rules which could have catastrophic impacts, have been made at the Bureau of International Recycling’s World Recycling Convention in Malaga.
The message was delivered by Paper Division President Francisco Donoso during his plenary session on 27 October. Mr Donoso, Managing Director, DOLAF Servicios Verdes (ESP) revealed that recovered paper clients in key European buying countries such as India, Thailand and Malaysia were not aware of and were not signing up DIWASS – despite a looming deadline of 31 December 2026.
DIWASS went live on 21 May and there is an EU requirement for all those who operate in the recovered paper supply chain where shipments enter, leave or transit through the EU to register and use the system by the end of the year.
But Mr Donoso said that of the more than 1,000 paper plants in Asia, only tens had signed up to the system. If recovered paper buyers and plants do not sign up, the fear is that Europe will not have an outlet for the 6-8 million tonnes of excess recovered paper it exports each year – and the implications will be huge. “We are talking about a catastrophe and a disaster,” said Mr Donoso.
As well as the requirement to use DIWASS, the new Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) requirement for plants that receive Europe’s secondary materials to be audited and prove that they operate to equivalent European standards come into effect from 21 May 2027. Mr Donoso urged the authorities to work with experts from the recovered paper and recycling sector and organisations, to define the audit criteria and achieve a workable solution.
“We are not magicians”
In a pre-recorded message for the Convention, Marc Ehrlich, CEO, Vipa Lausanne SA (CHE) called on the European Commission to “correct” its new rules that are negatively impacting the sector. He explained that DIWASS presented “a lot of obstacles” including the need “to declare two days in advance the exact way that we will be loading…we are not magicians, we cannot do that”.
Meanwhile, new WSR rules would “cut out many of the very important countries where we now ship our goods”.
Joining the conference by video link, Dominique Maguin, founder, La Compagnie des Matières Premières (FRA) and Past President of both the Paper Division and BIR, called the European Commission restriction of exports “quite unacceptable”. “We are not exporting because it's our pleasure to export. We are exporting because the market in Europe is too small to consume everything we are producing. I think this is very important to understand for the politicians in Europe,” he said.
If Europe stopped exporting recovered paper after May 2027, the price would collapse, businesses in the sector would no longer be viable and they would be forced to shut down, Mr Maguin asserted. There were also implications for local authorities collecting recovered paper: if it had no value, this would affect the economics of their waste collections and sorting facilities and require disposal in landfill or incineration.
Total production of new paper and board worldwide is roughly 420 million tonnes per year, while total collection and production of secondary raw material is 245 million tonnes, meaning a 55% utilisation rate of secondary material in the creation of new paper and board worldwide. It was important for politicians to understand, said Mr Maguin, that stopping this flow of secondary material impacted on the creation of new paper products.
Lack of awareness
Ranjit Baxi, managing director, J & H Sales International Ltd (GBR), revealed that his own conversations with buyers in Asia had shown a lack of awareness of DIWASS and the need to register. If this failure to register means that European recovered paper cannot be exported, he predicted a “supply chain crisis for paper mills across Asia”.
As for the WSR requirement for paper mills overseas to be audited and operate at ‘equivalent’ European standards, he pointed out that many paper mills in India do not have wastewater treatment plants and biodigesters because they are small. If they failed the standard, that would eliminate a swathe of outlets for European recovered paper. As a result of Europe’s new measures, Mr Baxi said there would be “a major decline in global circularity” which was at odds with its Net Zero ambitions.
Simone Scaramuzzi, sales and purchasing director, LCI SRL (ITA), suggested that Europe’s recovered paper customers in Asia “will find a solution” and alternatives if they are no longer able to receive material but Europe itself would be damaged by destroying its own market. Exports had to be made possible, he insisted.
Mr Scaramuzzi also questioned why the European Commission felt the need to assert ‘European equivalent’ rules, when many countries he supplied, such as Indonesia and Malaysia imposed their own rules and inspections to protect the environment and their safety. “Why are we putting rules on something that they are already checking on?” he asked.
His final plea was for Europe’s leaders and decision makers to listen to industry on the negative impact of the new regulations, postpone DIWASS, and work together with industry experts “in another way, where everybody is happy”.