Paper For a short-lived moment in his tory, an otherwise understated product suddenly hit the big time. As panic-buying took hold in many countries during the Covid pandemic, not much flew off the shelves faster than paper – toilet paper, to be precise. And demand for paper remains huge in other areas of life as well, defying the onward march of digitalization and a clear trend towards paperless processes. Paper is, in effect, sheets made from tiny wood fibers or other parts of plants pressed together, and there are 3,000 different types of it out there, suitable for a variety of different purposes. Happily, paper and the card board packaging made from it also have a value when they have been used or can no longer perform their original function. In Europe, the recycling rate for paper has been a good 70 percent for more than ten years. Paper recycled in this way is now the most important source of raw materials in Europe. A bill of lading provides legal proof that a con- tract has been concluded between a shipper and a freight forwarder. With cross-border, international transport within the EU, a CMR bill of lading is mandatory. Carriers keep this with them on transport jobs – now, as before, in paper form.
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