Study into cardboard recycling

Perth's mountain of cardboard waste could provide the raw material for a multi-million-dollar expansion of the paper recycling industry.

Deputy Premier Ian Taylor said today the Department of State Development's recycling industries unit had commissioned a detailed study to discover just how much of the cardboard could be saved and reprocessed.

"Waste paper, and cardboard in particular, is one of our largest disposal problems, but it could also be turned into an asset and form the basis of an enlarged recycling industry," Mr Taylor said.

He said up to 40,000 tonnes of used cardboard were already being recycled at the APM plant at Spearwood and reprocessed into new cardboard.

"But we believe there is still a huge volume of cardboard which ends up in landfills each year," Mr Taylor said.

"If it can be saved, we would go a long way to securing a new resource for the recycling industry."

Mr Taylor said there were a number of multi-million-dollar recycling projects at the planning stage which were likely to go ahead - if a ready supply of used cardboard could be identified.

"The study will seek out sources and suggest how much can be collected," he said.

"As far as we know, most of the used cardboard is coming from retailers and other commercial sources."

The Minister said there had been some concern within the recycling industry that there were not sufficient amounts of waste paper and waste cardboard to support expansion.

"We do not support that view, but we realise it is important that we establish accurate and reliable figures about such waste," he said.

"Companies are not likely to invest in new recycling ventures if they are not satisfied that the resource is available."

Mr Taylor said a recent study had shown there was far more waste newsprint available for recycling than original official estimates had suggested.

He believed the new study on cardboard would produce a similar result.

"The study should certainly provide companies, banks and investors with the confidence to proceed," Mr Taylor said.

He said a number of companies involved in recycling were being invited to join the investigation and help fund the study.