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According to research amongst those responsible for print and paper procurement for major organisations across the UK, over two thirds (67%) have targets or plans to increase the proportion of paper products using recycled content in the future.

Of these, half (51%) plan to increase their use by up to 20% in the next 12 months.  Others plan to be more bullish, with a quarter planning to increase their procurement by between 20%-50% and the other quarter (24%) by as much as 50%-100% over the next 12 months.

In the longer term, over a third (35%) plan to increase their use of recycled stock by 50%-100% in the next two to five years.  Similarly, a further 35% plan to increase their use of recycled paper by 20%-50% during that period.

In addition to their own plans and targets, print and paper buyers are optimistic about general take-up of recycled paper, with over half (52%) expecting the overall industry to increase its use by between 20%-50%.  One in ten predict that take-up will increase by as much as 50%-75% and a third (36%) forecast an increase of up to 20%.

According to Jonathan Tame, who heads up WRAP's Recycled Paper Advocacy Team:
"Many organisations have been keeping a watching brief on developments in the recycled paper sector for some time and have increasingly been recognising the clear benefits.  This has led to increased market demand, a trend that I predict will only continue.  Today's recycled papers are equal in quality and on-press performance to virgin stocks and, where competitively priced, there is no reason not to seriously consider it in the procurement decision making process.  As well as the business benefits, there is also the environmental impact and reducing landfill."

The single most important factor when procuring recycled paper is that it has equal performance and reliability on printing presses and office machines as virgin stock.  Other influencing factors include competitive pricing compared to virgin stock and that it is equal in quality.

The recent industry paper price increases on virgin products have encouraged nearly one in five organisations (16%) to use more recycled paper.