First waste paper recycling plant starts operating

TIRANA, June 21 – A packaging company operating just outside Durres has inaugurated the first waste paper recycling plant.
Attending the inauguration ceremony last weekend, Prime Minister Sali Berisha considered the plant’s inauguration an important event for the Albanian economy, especially the recycling industry.
“Government is committed to make every effort for the success of businesses in Albania, said Berisha promising legal support to the recycling industry, whose investments in paper, plastic, glass and metal recycling are estimated at 80 million euros, according to government.
The recycling plant, a 17 million euro private investment supported by the EBRD, has a production capacity of 70-80 tons of paper per day meeting some of the country’s needs and exporting a considerable part.
Last year, the EBRD made an equity investment of 2 million euros in Edipack Sh.a to support the company’s plans to install recycled paper production line and establish waste paper recycling networks throughout Albania. Edipack’s operations involve production of paper from recycled material to make cardboard and packaging materials. This investment established a precedent in Albania given the environmentally-friendly paper production which is supported by an organized collection and recycling network.
Operating since 2003, Edipack is already the biggest manufacturer of corrugated cardboard and packaging in Albania. Its market share, however, only amounts to about 10 per cent of the national consumption of cardboard and packaging products. Much of the rest is imported, as Edipack’s own raw materials have been until now. Besides producing its own boxes, the company sells corrugated paper as an intermediate product to other local packaging producers.