The jump in the recycling rate came despite the background of a sharp decrease in paper consumption of 4%, while the use of recovered paper rose 0.8% to 42m tonnes.

Recovered paper has now become a major raw material, representing 42% of the total volume of raw materials used by the European paper industry in 2001, bringing it ever closer to the rate for virgin fibres of 43%.

CEPI chairman Michal Grller said the industry was taking the challenge very seriously: "The long-term challenge is to produce a sustainable product from a raw material from sustainable forests, with sound recycling activities in ecologically-based mills."

All this is being done, said Grller, while the industry continues to contribute to Europes wealth.

At the same time, the industry is investing millions of euros to continually improve its environmental performance, he added.

"To help the industry move towards this goal, CEPI is working on a number of key issues that will contribute to this ongoing work towards sustainability," he said.

However, Grller did express caution about the European Unions eagerness in adopting policies ahead of competitors.

"CEPI urges authorities to analyse the economic impact of policies to ensure they do not overburden the industry," he said.

Story by Andy Scott