The American Forest & Paper Association announced a new paper recovery goal of 55 percent of all paper consumed in the United States by 2012. The association also announced a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designed to increase paper recovery in office buildings, municipalities and schools.
This announcement represents an increase from the recovery goal of 50 percent set in 1995. Given the increase in domestic consumption of paper and paperboard, and the continued growth in the export of recovered fiber, the industry is expected to meet its current goal of 50 percent this year.
As domestic and export demand for U.S. recovered paper continues to grow, the paper industry runs the risk of seeing existing recycled paper and paperboard capacity idled due to insufficient amounts of available recovered paper. Domestic demand will be squeezed by an anticipated 50 percent surge in U.S. exports of recovered paper. Most of that demand will come from Asia, particularly China.
Currently, more paper is recovered by weight from the municipal solid waste stream for recycling than all other materials combined, including plastic, metal and glass. Paper recovery has increased 98 percent since 1987, when the recovery rate was 28.8 percent.
To achieve its 55 percent goal, AF&PA has developed integrated public-private sector partnerships with the EPA, Keep America Beautiful, CarrAmerica and others to educate and encourage towns and cities, office buildings, schools and private citizens to recover more high-quality papers in their communities and workplaces.
"Americans have done a great job of recycling, but we can all do more," said Harris E. DeLoach, Jr., president and CEO, Sonoco Products Company. "AF&PA and its partners will work to educate the American public about paper recycling and increase recovery of high- quality paper for the manufacture of recycled-content products."