Paper Division:

Domestic winner of Papyrus prize

As befitting a BIR Convention held in Rome, there was an Italian winner of the Papyrus prize - the award conferred by the world recycling organisation’s Paper Division in recognition of services to paper recycling.

Lamacart SPA, based in Villafranca di Verona, was formed in 1934 by Francesco Nicolis who saw business opportunity in the paper others chose to discard. Assisted by his son Luciano, Mr Nicolis was able to grow the business quickly; and this momentum was maintained by the next generation of the family-run business such that Lamacart is now one of Italy’s most prominent paper recyclers.

Sadly, Luciano Nicolis - described by Paper Division President Ranjit Baxi as an inspirational figure  - died only a few weeks prior to the Convention in Rome. The Papyrus prize was collected by his son Thomas Nicolis from BIR World President Björn Grufman in the presence of the Paper Division board. Having thanked the BIR for the accolade, the current Managing Director of Lamacart confirmed that his company already handles 1m tonnes of recovered paper per annum in Italy and that the aim is to double the business over the next five years.

The Papyrus prize is awarded twice a year at the BIR’s Spring and Autumn Conventions, honouring individuals, companies and organisations making a substantial contribution to paper recycling.