The additional capacity largely comes through the creation or conversion of two new mills.
It was announced earlier this year that Palm is set to convert its King’s Lynn mill in Norfolk from newsprint to produce corrugated case material (CCM). The site will have an annual capacity of 700,000 tonnes.
At the same time, Eren’s Shotton Mill is set to open with another 750,000 tonnes in annual capacity. The site will also have the ability to produce 67,000 tonnes of tissue paper.
Together, this means an additional 1.45 million in cardboard reprocessing for the UK.
Additionally, it is understood that the Essity Prudhoe mill, which is set to be fully operational by 2027, will also be an off taker of some cardboard.
Dimitra Rappou, Executive Director of Sustainable Products at the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), said: “Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, from pandemic-driven demand fluctuations to geopolitical conflict and trade disruption, the UK corrugated sector has remained stable.
“Corrugated production has been broadly consistent since post-pandemic normalisation, while packaging continues to represent the largest end-use category for paper and board in the UK.
“Alongside major investments in future manufacturing capacity and continued progress in recycling and carbon reduction, data from recent years indicate a mature sector that remains an important contributor to the UK’s supply chain and circular economy.”
2025 saw the UK reprocess approximately 1.3 million tonnes in cardboard and collect about 4 million tonnes.
The remaining 2.7 million tonnes was mostly exported to countries in southeast Asia, south Asia and Europe.
Closure of Smurfit Westrock mill
However not all of this historic UK reprocessing capacity is still available, with Smurfit Westrock closing its SSK Mill in Birmingham following a consultation process.
The site had an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes of cardboard material.
This means that, if no other closures occur, the UK will still have a net gain of 1.25 million tonnes.
Pim Wareman, CEO of Smurfit Westrock Recycled Paper Cluster Europe, said when the closure was announced: “I recognise that this news will be difficult, particularly for our colleagues at SSK.
“I would like to thank everyone for their continued professionalism, patience and dedication throughout this challenging process.”
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