Australia celebrated National Recycling Week with a pat on the back for being the best newspaper recycler in the world.

A Newspaper Works-commissioned report on 2013 performance puts Australia’s rate of recovery and recycling of newsprint at 78 per cent, making it the world’s best for the eighteenth consecutive year.

Executive director of environment Peter Netchaef says Mr the result is recognition of “two decades of solid improvements” and congratulates “all those Australians who read and recycle their newspapers”.

TNW commissioned the report from IndustryEdge, whose Robert Eastment and Tim Wood collated and analysed data and compiled the report. It says the newsprint sector “continues to perform well” in Australia: “Every year, their support and the public’s enthusiasm maintains one of the world’s strongest recycling systems for newsprint.

“Australia is now almost ten per cent ahead of most of Europe.”

Australian newspaper and magazine publishers have been working together on recycling for a quarter of a century. With newsprint manufacturer Norske Skog, they have had a voluntary plan endorsed by state and federal governments since 1992.

“Our national plan is all about ensuring we have market support for recycling; our members purchase newsprint with a recycled fibre component,” Netchaef says.

“As well as saving space in our valuable landfills, recycling newspapers and magazines saves energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.”