Changing shopping habits have seen the e-commerce economy soar and boosted the demand for cardboard boxes - but the decline in recycling rates has squeezed supply leading up to the festive period.
There were 5 billion parcel shipments in the UK in 2020, a 33% increase according to the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index. That's 74 boxes per person.But production of those parcels depends on recycling, and while consumption has soared here and around the world, the rate of recovery fell.
For manufacturers, the decline in recycling rates has combined with increased demand to drive up prices. Around 500 million of those are made at their largest UK plant, at Fordham near Newmarket, where the lifespan of a box from production to sale, delivery, recycling, pulping and re-manufacture is just 14 days.Fibre - as it's known in the industry - is a fundamental raw material during the festive season, but Roberts says the decline in recycling rates has squeezed supply.
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