Abitibi-Consolidated Expands Recycling Program

Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. has announced that its Paper Retriever program, a community-based paper recycling program, is expanding into seven additional U.S. markets, including Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The addition of the seven new cities brings the total number of municipal areas serviced by Abitibi-Consolidated’s Paper Retriever program to 23 in North America.

 “Abitibi-Consolidated is already the world’s leading recycler of newspapers and magazines – this expansion further solidifies this leadership into the future,” said Michael Sullivan, general manager, Abitibi-Consolidated Recycling Division. “The Abitibi Paper Retriever® is an important part of the company’s overall effort to ensure the wise use of resources while managing newsprint manufacturing quality and costs.”

The program is offered free to communities. Green and yellow bins are provided to interested parties who encourage the community to bring their paper to convenient drop-off locations. Customers are paid for the paper collected in each bin.

Most of the fiber collected through the expanded program will go to Abitibi’s Thorold, Ontario and Snowflake, Arizona mills, both of which manufacture newsprint using 100 percent recycled fiber.

Abitibi-Consolidated has paid more than $2.8 million to non-profit organizations through its Paper Retriever program.