A perfect circle

Paper recycling, in some cases, occurs one box, one newspaper or even one piece of office paper at a time at the beginning stages of the recycling loop. Some initial contributors to the recycling process would be surprised to learn that the world’s papermakers now consume more than 230 million tons of recovered fibre annually in the production of new paper and packaging.

A weighty figure as large as 230 million tons can be difficult to grasp even for recyclers and traders who are accustomed to dealing with dense bales and container loads of paper and cardboard.

The paper recycling industry is spread out to all parts of the world in terms of collection, processing and consumption of recovered fibre.

Makers of containerboard, newsprint, tissue and all other grades of paper have made substantial commitments to using recovered fibre as a feedstock at mills located throughout the world.

Their investments represent a critical step in closing the loop for individuals and government jurisdictions that want to divert paper from the landfill as well as to private sector collectors and packers around the world.

On the map of the world presented in the following pages, brief snapshots are offered of some of the largest corporate consumers of scrap paper.

Each of these companies is contributing to that figure of more than 230 million tons of scrap paper consumed annually, although they represent only a fraction of an industry that includes paper producers large and small.

The information overlaid on the map is divided into four quadrants representing different parts of the world and also includes a brief characterization of whether the region described is a net importer or exporter of recovered fibre.

Recovered fibre consumers of the world

A list, by region, of major paper producers and scrap paper consumers and a snapshot of recovered fibre global trading patterns.

North America

Major paper producers/recovered fibre consumers

• International Paper, www.ipaper.com – The producer of a wide range of paper and board grades consumes as much as 5 million tons of recovered fibre at its mills in North America.
• Rock-Tenn, www.rocktenn.com – This containerboard producer consumes more than 4 million tons of recovered fibre at its mills located throughout the U.S.
• Cascades, www.cascades.com/en – This Canada-based paper and board producer consumes more than 2.5 million tons at its mills in Canada and the U.S., representing 79 % of the company’s furnish.
• Georgia-Pacific, www.gp.com – The Atlanta-based forest products company consumes some 2.5 million tons of recovered fibre in the production of containerboard and other paper grades.
• Caraustar/Newark Group, www.caraustar.com – When merged together, these two containerboard producers will consume between 1.5 million and 2 million tons per year of recovered fibre.
• Resolute Forest Products, www.resoluteforestproducts.com – The Canada-based producer of graphic papers and pulp annually consumes more than 1.5 million tons of recovered fibre, about 12.5 % of its furnish.
• Sonoco, www.sonoco.com – A producer of $4.8 billion of packaging grades and packaging products annually at numerous mills and plants, the company (which also has plants in Europe and South America) consumes 1.4 million tons or more of recovered fibre each year.
• Pratt Industries, www.prattindustries.com – The U.S. division of this Australian paper company has been expanding its presence and now consumes more than 1 million tons of scrap paper annually in the U.S.
• Kimberly-Clark, www.kimberly-clark.com – This multinational maker of tissue and hygiene products has used slightly less than 1 million tons of recovered fibre each year from 2010 through 2013, on average.
• Kruger, www.kruger.com – In 2013 recovered fibre made up 24 % of the feedstock used by this Montreal-based maker of containerboard, newsprint and tissue products.

Recovered fibre flow pattern: North America is a net exporter of as many as 19 million tons of scrap paper annually. Major scrap paper grades exported include old corrugated containers (OCC), mixed paper and old newspapers (ONP). Mills in East Asia absorb the most exported tonnage, followed by mills in Mexico and in Central and South America.

Central and South America

Major paper producers/fibre consumers

• Biopappel, www.biopappel.com/en – This Mexico-based producer of several paper grades consumes 1.6 million tons of recovered fibre annually.
• Copamex, www.copamex.com – Based in Mexico, this producer of several paper and packaging grades consumes recovered fibre and operates a recycling division.
• CMPC, www.cmpc.cl – The Chile-based pulp and paper producer consumes more than 700,000 tonnes of recovered fibre annually at mills in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.
• Klabin, www.klabin.com.br/en – The Brazil-based producer of paper and packaging bills itself as the largest recycler of aseptic cartons in the world, consuming more than 200,000 tons per year, and brought a recycled-content containerboard paper machine online in 2014.
• Papel Prensa, www.papelprensa.com – The Argentinian newsprint producer operates its own deinking plant to use recovered fibre to supply 10 % or more of its overall furnish.

Recovered fibre flow pattern: Parts of heavily forested South America rely largely on wood chips and natural pulp as feedstock while importing modest amounts of recovered fibre. Mexico is historically a net importer of recovered fibre, though its domestic collection infrastructure has been expanding.

Europe, Africa and the Middle East

Major paper producers/recovered fibre consumers

• Smurfit Kappa, www.smurfitkappa.com – This $9.3 billion Ireland-based packaging producer consumes 5.3 million tonnes of recovered fibre annually, predominantly in Europe.
• Stora Enso, www.storaenso.com – In 2013 recovered fibre comprised 26 % of the raw materials used to make paper and board at this Finland- and Sweden-based producer of more than 11 million tons of paper products.
• SCA, www.sca.com – The Sweden-based tissue and hygiene products maker (with paper mills located around the world) uses recovered fibre as 50 % of its tissue production feedstock in Europe, North America and Latin America.
• Mondi, www.mondigroup.com – This $7.6 billion global paper producer, based in South Africa, uses 1.5 million tons of recovered fibre, much of that at mills in eastern and central Europe.
• SAICA, www.saica.com – The Spain-based packaging grades producer (with mills in Spain, France and the United Kingdom) relies largely on recovered fibre to produce its 2.4 million tons of paper each year.
• UPM, www.upm.com – The Finland-based graphic papermaker with 18 mills worldwide uses 36 % recovered fibre as feedstock.
• Norske Skog, www.norskeskog.com – This Norway-based newsprint maker used slightly less than 1 million tonnes of recovered fibre in 2013, comprising 31 % of its feedstock.
• DS Smith, www.dsmith.com – This U.K.-based papermaker and packaging producer uses recovered fibre at all nine of its paper mills in Europe, which produce 2.6 million tonnes of paper annually.
• Papierfabrik Palm, www.papierfabrik-palm.de/en – The Germany-based producer of more than 2 million tons annually of graphic papers relies solely on recovered fibre at its mill in the United Kingdom.
• WARAQ, www.waraq.com – The Saudi Arabia-based producer of more than 200,000 tons uses recovered fibre (mainly OCC) as the predominant feedstock at its Damman, Saudi Arabia, mill.

Recovered fibre flow pattern: The European Union is a net exporter of recovered fibre, exporting as many as 10 million tons, including OCC, ONP and office grades annually. East Asian mills are common destinations.

Asia and Australia

Major paper producers/recovered fibre consumers

• Nine Dragons, www.ndpaper.com – One of China’s largest containerboard makers uses predominantly recovered fibre in production of more than 8 million tons of board annually.
• Lee & Man, www.leemanpaper.com – Based in Hong Kong with most of its plants in China, this containerboard maker has nearly 7 million tons of production capacity and consumes more than 6 million tons of OCC yearly.
• Oji Holdings Corp., www.ojiholdings.co.jp/english – The papermaking division of this Japanese conglomerate consumes some 4 million tons of recovered fibre, or nearly 63 % of its feedstock needs.
• Nippon Paper Group, www.nipponpaper group.com/english – The Japan-based producer uses 55 % recovered fibre in the production of more than 4 million tons of packaging grades and newsprint yearly.
• Chenming Group, www.chenmingpaper.com/en – The Chinese producer of some 6 million tons of paper grades yearly is working on a program to “maximize its utilization” of recovered fibre.
• Shandong Huatai Paper, www.huataipaper.com – The northern China-based producer of multiple paper grades uses OCC in the production of more than 2 million tons per year of containerboard and ONP in the production of newsprint.
• Cheng Loong Corp., www.clc.com.tw/eng-index.asp – This Taiwanese producer of numerous paper grades uses recovered fibre as 92 % of the feedstock for the packaging grades it produces.
• Asia Pulp & Paper, www.app.com.cn/en – This producer of some 9 million tons annually of pulp and paper in Indonesia and China consumes more than 500,000 tons of recovered fibre annually at its mills in Ningbo, China.
• Visy, www.visy.com.au – This Australian paperboard producer, parent company of Pratt Industries in the U.S., uses up to 100 % recovered fibre feedstock at mills located in three different Australian states.
• ITC Corp., www.itcportal.com – One of India’s largest papermakers, ITC has set up a program to encourage recycling participation in that nation to help furnish its mills.

Recovered fibre flow pattern: The nations of East Asia have traditionally been and remain net importers of recovered fibre, with as many as 30 million tons imported annually by China alone. Mills in China and other East Asian countries import OCC, mixed paper and most other major recovered fibre grades.