German Paper Association Allays Fear of Toilet Paper Shortage

Following rising toilet paper purchases in the wake of growing coronavirus infection rates in Germany, the paper industry association Verband Deutscher Papierfabriken (VDP) has reassured citizens that they do not have to worry about a potential shortage. “Supply is safe, hoarding makes no sense,” it said in a statement.

Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported in late October that demand for selected sanitary products and food had risen considerably. “A special evaluation of experimental data shows that the sales figures of toilet tissue in week 42 (October 12-17) were almost twice as high (+89.9 percent) as the average of the pre-crisis months from August 2019 to January 2020,” Destatis said in a statement, adding that sales of disinfectants and soap soared by 72.5 percent and 62.3 percent, respectively.

According to the VDP, some 750,000 mtpy of toilet paper are produced and used in Germany and production and sale through retailers is geared towards even consumption. “As long as the consumer behaves normally, there will be no shortage,” managing director Klaus Windhagen said in a statement.

Toilet paper hoarding already resulted in empty supermarket shelves in the early summer, and while paper mills took various measures to increase product availability, it is difficult to raise the actual production levels.

According to the VDP, maintenance shuts were postponed and the amount of different toilet paper grades was reduced to relieve the logistic chains. Also, goods that were not bought due to the lockdown in the catering and commercial sectors were delivered to end consumers. “Producing more toilet paper is only possible to a very limited extent. The big machines produce around the clock anyway and at an optimized speed that can hardly be changed,” the VDP noted.

The association also issued guidance on the adequate disposal of used face masks this week. According to the VDP, used face masks should be disposed of together with residual waste and not in paper collection systems. “Improper disposal disrupts the recycling cycle and endangers employees in paper waste sorting and processing,” the association warned. It added that a large part of the available face masks contain plastic fibers in their filter layer. “If these end up in paper waste, they make the recycling process more difficult and would have to be filtered out,” the VDP said. “Face masks which are made entirely of paper also belong in the general waste to avoid contamination and health risks,” it added. According to the association, this is also true for used sanitary paper such as kitchen rolls and paper handkerchiefs and packaging products like, for example, pizza boxes that contain leftover food.

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