UPM Kymmene Corporation (UPM) and Norfolk Environmental Waste Services Ltd. (NEWS) have extended their existing contract for additional two years to buy 34,000 tonnes of paper a year. Both companies have signed this agreement in 2004 and currently extended their arrangement until 2011 to sort recyclables collected by Norfolk county’s seven district councils at its MRF at Costessey, outside Norwich. The paper is then baled and sent to UPM’s mill in North Wales and is turned into newsprint.
At MRF, plastics are sent to Recoup, card is sent to Newport Paper and aluminium is sent to Novelis. Steel used to be sent to Corus but is currently being sent to AMG.
The value of the new contract was not revealed.
Steve Jenkins, NEWS local authority contracts manager said that the company had a fixed price range so that prices can be re-negotiated on a regular basis, depending on the market.
Steve Jenkins also reported that the company was guaranteed a certain price that is likely to give it some stability in the present climate.
Jenkins also said: We are pleased to continue our business relationship with UPM. Their on-going support through training and joint projects means that we are able to recycle high volumes of waste paper in the UK.
Jenkins added that although the UPM mill was far away – with the local Palm Paper mill currently under development – paper would be backhauled to Wales in vehicles used to carry other products to Norfolk which would reduce carbon emissions.
UPM applauded the quality of the materials of NEWS despite the quality of commingled materials receiving increasing criticism from many reprocessors.
Robbie Warden, regional sourcing manager at UPM, said: NEWS has consistently maintained its quality standards, enabling us to efficiently recycle the material at our newsprint mill UPM Shotton in North Wales.