The collection of recovered paper in the UK has maintained healthy growth for the last two decades and in 2009 over 8 million tonnes were collected. Currently the UK does not have the capacity to recover all of the paper it collects. In 2009, over half of the collected paper was exported, mainly to China, India, and Indonesia. It is estimated that recovering rather than landfilling 1 tonne of paper and cardboard saves 1.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Domestic recycling of paper and cardboard in 2009 therefore represents a carbon saving of 3.8 million tonnes.

Despite the size of the industry, there is currently no centralised marketplace where industry can trade standardised contracts. Drawing on over 12 year's experience in operating the UK's marketplace for Packaging Recovery Notes under the EU Packaging Waste Regulations, t2e aims to improve accessibility to the best quality and available prices by providing participants with an additional avenue for buying and selling recovered paper.

The graph below shows the change in collection levels of recovered paper since 1989

Graph source: Confederation of Paper Industries 2010 Annual Review (http://www.paper.org.uk/)