Mondi hosts first-of-its-kind round table to tackle used paper bags from construction

The event, which was held on 16 November 2023 in Madrid, looked at how to build systems that will prevent the disposal of used paper bags, working towards implementing a process of efficient collection, sorting, and recycling that can be managed on an industrial scale.

The partners attending were representatives from different parts of the value chain, namely Mondi, Envalora, Neinor Homes, OHLA, Arpada, Macotran, RCD Asociacion, S. Solís, Uder, Alier, Saint-Gobain and CoCircular. These like-minded industry leaders share a vision of boosting the circularity of paper bags used in the construction industry and see collaboration and stakeholder dialogue as a critical activity to achieve this.

The event follows a successful pilot project driven by Mondi, which set up a collection and recycling system for used paper bags in Spain. The project was initiated because paper bags used in the construction industry are currently not recycled at scale, resulting in valuable fibres being lost. In this pilot, different construction companies and specialised collectors for construction and demolition waste teamed up to manage the collection of used paper bags at construction sites, transportation, and the reprocessing of the used paper bags. This pilot provides a proof of concept to increase the circularity of used paper bags.