The recycling rate in Europe reached 71.7% in 2013.
The total amount of paper collected and recycled in the paper sector remains stable at just over 57 million tonnes, despite the decreasing consumption of paper in Europe. Recycling has increased by 45% (18 million tonnes) since 1998, the base year for the first voluntary commitment set in the European Declaration on Paper Recycling. In strong contrast, consumption has dropped back to the 1998 level of 80 million tonnes. A net volume of 8.3 million tonnes (14%) of the total 57 million tonnes was bought by third countries for recycling outside the commitment region of EU-27 plus Norway and Switzerland.
