The COVID-19 pandemic has harmed numerous sectors of the global economy, but paperboard packaging and tissue paper have been notable exceptions. No matter what shape the economic rebound takes, that means Turkey is likely to have a growing demand for finished paper and board and the recovered fiber needed to make it. In a recent interview with Recycling Today, Ercan Yürekli of Istanbul-based recycling and trading firm Yürekli Kağıt indicates his company is preparing to help fill this demand, as are many other companies that belong to TÜDAM, an association of more than 50 Turkish recycling firms.
Yürekli Kağıt collects printers scrap in and around Istanbul, but Ercan Yürekli says Turkey’s scrap paper collection overall focuses on old corrugated containers (OCC), and even the collection rate for that stands at “only at 20 to 25 percent.” “Industrial OCC is collected, but household fiber is less so,” says Yürekli. “Our current 4 million tons per year capacity means we’re already net importers of scrap paper.”
Yürekli says shipping fiber via truck from Romania (as well as from Greece and Bulgaria) can be done affordably. Fiber also is brought in via sea container from Germany, the Netherlands and other more distant points in Europe. With new capacity coming online in Turkey, however, he sees supply lines extending farther—including to North America. “Our aim is to help Turkey become a bigger importer of fiber, up to 2 million tons per year by 2023,” says Yürekli of on the TÜDAM association’s goals. “Our firm would like about 10 percent of this share,” he adds.
Source: Recycling Today
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