The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, has released three new brochures designed to increase paper recycling in schools, workplaces and communities interested in starting up or improving paper recycling programs.
The group says the brochures are part of its effort to reach a new goal to recover and recycle 55 percent of all paper consumed in the U.S. by 2012. Current recovery paper recovery rates are at an all-time high of 50.3 percent.
“AF&PA and its partners, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Keep America Beautiful, and CarrAmerica, are working hard to educate the public on the very important role they play in paper recovery,” says W. Henson Moore, president and CEO of the AF&PA.
“AF&PA’s recycling guides are designed to aid citizens, municipalities and businesses committed to improving our environment through increased paper recovery and recycling,” he adds.
The AF&PA notes that recovered paper is an important raw material for the U.S. paper industry, with more than 80 percent of all paper mills in the U.S. now using recovered paper to make their products. Nearly 200 U.S. mills exclusively use recovered paper. Of the paper currently recovered in the United States, 95 percent is recycled into new paper products and the balance is used in other applications. More than 37 percent of all the raw material used to make new paper comes from recovered paper.
But the group says greater collection of more high-quality paper grades is necessary to ensure the continued production of new recycled content paper products. As domestic and export demand for U.S. recovered paper continues to grow, domestic supply will be squeezed by an anticipated 50 percent surge in U.S. exports of recovered paper, primarily to China and other parts of Asia.
Those seeking copies of AF&PA’s school, workplace or community recycling guides can visit www.afandpa.org/recycling or contact Gretchen Kornely at (202) 463-5156 or e-mail her at Gretchen_Kornely@afandpa.org.
