Please save the date/mark your (online) calendars for the upcoming INGEDE Symposium – both online and on location in Munich:

Printed matter and white packaging are valuable raw materials for deinkers
INGEDE Symposium on 8 March in Munich and online

The recycling paper industry needs raw material – fewer newspapers, less advertisement also after the Corona pandemic and increased electronic communication lead to decreasing amounts of paper for recycling. Where will our raw material come from in the future? "What is growing? What is shrinking? Who needs which fibres?" asks Arne Kant (AFRY Management Consulting) and shows the market, but also possible alternatives if it no longer supplies the paper needed.

Still, too much of the collected paper for recycling bypasses the sorting plants and thus the deinking plants of the paper mills and goes directly towards packaging –there, demand continues to rise due to the ongoing "Amazonitis". Do we need regulatory assistance for paper recycling here? In any case, we need the white packaging. In year 4 after the new German packaging law, INGEDE asks representatives of the packaging industry: Which alternatives to plastic have become established, what does the market want, what not? Answers are provided by Jürgen Schwald of BMS Papier Concept, who supplies the market leaders with packaging, and Urban Buschmann, once the father of the paper freezer bag at FRoSTA.

In order to achieve the properties of plastics here, barriers are necessary – barriers also for recycling? What problems does this cause in the paper mill? And how do we ensure that only white packaging is directed towards deinking during sorting, and not more brown cardboard? The solution is promised by camera systems and artificial intelligence, which is the subject of the contributions by Michael Lindner (UPM), Jake Woolfenden (TrueCircle, London) and John Schulz (BTG Instruments). Arne Krolle (INGEDE) promises "more revenue and fewer returns" through "certification of sorting plants".

The accompanying regulatory framework is explained by Martin Drews (DIE PAPIERINDUSTRIE) with a contribution on the new voluntary commitment and Ulrich Leberle (Cepi, Brussels). He answers the questions on European packaging legislation: How does the Commission proposal affect the recycling industry, especially deinkers?

These and more expert speakers will show options for future sustainable raw material management in order to save more white fibres for the white cycle. More detailsabout the programme on our website, please register here for three sessions packed with up-to-date information! The INGEDE Symposium is the only annual international event covering all paper recycling aspects from printing inks to collection and sorting to deinking technology.

The INGEDE Symposium will be a hybrid event – we hope to see you in Munich again for more background talks but will also provide an online stream.

We look forward to welcoming you in person in Munich again or online at your laptop!