ISRI ratifies new paper grades

The Paper Stock Industries, a national chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, along with ISRI’s board of directors, have ratified a number of new paper grades that will be included in ISRI’s "Scrap Specifications Circular." The effective date for the new grades was July 1, 2016.

The new paper grades are No. 58, sorted clean news (SCN); No. 56, sorted residential papers (SCP); and No. 54, mixed paper (MP).

Along with the introduction of the new grades, PSI and ISRI have retired three news grades – No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8; and three mixed paper grades – No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. The grades are scheduled to be deleted from the Specifications guidelines Dec. 31, 2016.

In a statement, PSI says some companies have expressed a need to maintain the deleted grades for a number of reasons. Given this request, PSI says it has can recommend to ISRI’s board at an upcoming meeting that the deletion dates for the retired grades be extended by several months to ease the transition.

Prior to ISRI's Paper Division making its recommendation, PSI is seeking additional insight and comments from the public on whether or not the deletion dates for the old grades should be extended. To comment on the changes, contact Jonathan Levy, ISRI director of member services, at jonathanlevy@isri.org. 

(Update: Nov. 5, ISRI’s board of directors passed a motion unanimously to postpone the deletion of ONP Nos. 6, 7 and 8 and mixed paper No. 1, 2 and 3 from Dec. 31, 2016, to June 30, 2017. The postponement is designed to allow those in the industry that may have contracts that refer to the former specifications more time to revise these contracts.)