Manufacturing paper covers a range of businesses — pulp and paper mills, board makers, corrugators, and makers of paper stationery, tissue, packaging and other paper products. They share a starting point: the work is heavy-machinery, steam and chemical work, so the workplace health and safety duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply to all of you. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates in Great Britain and HSENI in Northern Ireland.
On top of that, paper-making is water-intensive and tightly regulated for its discharges, and paper products carry their own market rules. Use the routes below to find the guides written for your kind of business.
Find your route
Most paper manufacturers need all three routes below — the mill foundation, the environmental and water duties, and the product-market rules. Work through the ones that apply, then confirm everything with the checklist.
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1
Run a safe mill and employ people
Whatever you make, start with the universal spine. Follow "Set up and run a safe paper mill" for your health and safety, process-chemical COSHH controls, work equipment, manual handling, fire safety, insurance, equality and data protection duties.
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2
Manage your environmental permits and water
Paper-making is water-intensive: you are likely to need an environmental permit for the installation, a trade effluent consent for discharges to the sewer, and an abstraction licence if you take water. Follow "Manage environmental permits and water at your paper mill".
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3
Place paper products on the market
Meet general product safety, the food-contact materials rules for food packaging, and packaging producer responsibility. Follow "Place paper products on the market".
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4
Confirm you have covered everything
Finish with the paper manufacturer compliance checklist to confirm your obligations are met.
Open the guide you need
- Set up and run a safe paper mill — the universal spine for every manufacturer.
- Manage environmental permits and water at your paper mill — the installation permit, trade effluent and abstraction duties.
- Place paper products on the market — general product safety, food-contact materials and packaging producer responsibility.
- Paper manufacturer compliance checklist — confirm you have covered everything.
Official sources
Authoritative starting points for paper manufacturing.