Apr 02, 2020 11:50:00

Why was 'cardboard' short due to the new coronavirus?

With the spread of the new coronavirus,

toilet paper has become scarce due to the hoax that the supply will be cut off, and situations have occurred around the world. In the meantime, it has been reported that in the UK, there is no shortage of 'cardboard', which is not spread especially in shortages.

Coronavirus: UK faces cardboard shortage due to crisis | Environment | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/31/uk-faces-cardboard-shortage-due-to-coronavirus-crisis

Coronavirus causing huge difficulty for the recovered paper sector, says Recycling Association | Envirotec
https://envirotecmagazine.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-causing-huge-difficulty-for-the-recovered-paper-sector-says-recycling-association/

The British Recycling Association (TRA) announced on March 31, 2020, 'Cardboard shortages may be due to the effects of the new coronavirus pandemic.' According to TRA, there is a concern that the shortage of fiber materials required to manufacture cardboard will occur not only in the UK but also in Europe and around the world. In particular, TRA points out that there is a danger of a shortage of cardboard materials used in the packaging of food and medical supplies.

Behind the shortage of cardboard is the fact that many local governments have stopped collecting garbage due to the effects of urban blockades implemented around the world as a measure against new coronaviruses.

`` One of our biggest concerns is that Europe is already running out of fiber to make cardboard boxes, '' said TRA Chief Executive Officer Simon Erin in a statement on March 31. If many municipalities stop collecting for recycling, there will be a shortage because the fiber materials used to make cardboard will be incinerated or landfilled. They are transported in cardboard boxes, so if they can no longer make cardboard boxes, distribution could stop. '

Travel restrictions and border closures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus have also spurred the situation. In the UK, the shortage of textile materials is particularly acute due to the closure of the

mixed paper (magazine) market in China and the gradual reduction of export quotas for waste cardboard (OCC) and sorted office waste (SOW). . To deal with this, the United Kingdom also imports from Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc., but this is not enough to make up the shortfall.

Also in Germany, the border with neighboring Poland, which had previously purchased a large amount of fiber material, has been blocked, so that raw materials are being ordered from France and the United Kingdom. From these cases, the British letter The Guardian states, `` Recycling of textile materials forms a global market, and raw materials are transported to Europe and around the world, but physical blockades hinder this distribution. It stands as a barrier. '

A spokeswoman for the British Local Government Association told The Guardian, 'Some municipalities are forced to change their garbage collection and recycling services to protect their garbage collection staff from the new coronavirus. We are working to make the process as efficient as possible. '

With garbage trucks, three to four staff members will board a single car, so it is not possible to carry out `` keeping distance '' which is encouraged as a countermeasure against the new coronavirus, and the British labor union has Workers who report this as a problem have been reported one after another. Shortages of gloves and hand sanitizers are also a problem.

Erin said, 'The UK imports much more paper and cardboard than it can make in its own country, so if you have an international market where recycling can be cycled in a sustainable and economical way, No, 'he complained.