Increasing Paper Collection for Recycling

The 100% recycled paperboard industry needs all of the clean, recycled paper it can get and that means we need Americans to recycle more paper at home and at work. This supply issue is at the heart of our industry’s survival.

U.S. manufacturers are competing in global markets for recycled paper supplies, with much of the paper collected in the U.S. for recycling being exported to Asia. Although some 50 million tons of paper is recovered in the U.S. for recycling each year, over 30% of it is exported to other countries. Global demand for recovered paper is growing at the rate of six million tons per year. We simply cannot meet both domestic and global demand for recovered paper, unless we increase the amount of paper we are collecting for recycling.

Increasing paper recycling also helps fight global warming. We have a substantial opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. simply by increasing paper recycling and the demand for products made from 100% recycled paperboard.

We need the cooperation of all levels of government, private sector recycling companies, and the American public to ensure that we have enough usable recovered paper for our mills to operate efficiently and cost-effectively.