GP Recycling president retires

Georgia-Pacific Recycling President Marc Forman has retired from the Jericho, New York-based company after a 35-year career in the recycling industry. He announced his retirement Jan. 9 on LinkedIn.

Photo courtesy of
Georgia-Pacific Recycling

“Leading the Georgia-Pacific Recycling organization has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Forman says in his announcement. “Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside many talented and remarkable people—in this business, the recycling industry and beyond. I’m deeply grateful for the bonds we’ve built, the experiences we’ve shared and the challenges we’ve overcome together.”

Forman joined Harmon Associates in 1991 as director of finance. In 1997, Howard Paper Co., which Harmon Associates was part of, merged with James River to form Fort James Corp. In 2000, Georgia-Pacific purchased Fort James, and GP’s Harmon Recycling division was renamed Georgia-Pacific Recycling in 2019.

RELATED: Steady evolution: A Q&A with Marc Forman

In that time, Forman continued to advance within the organization. He was appointed chief operating officer of Harmon in 2003 and president in 2008, and during his tenure as president, helped turn Georgia-Pacific Recycling into one of the largest recovered paper trading companies, while Georgia-Pacific LLC remains one of the largest recovered paper consumers in North America. In Recycling Today’s most recent list, Georgia-Pacific ranks third, consuming 2 million tons in 2024.

In a statement from the Washington-based Recycled Materials Association’s (ReMA’s) Paper Stock Industries (PSI) chapter, the group notes that Forman helped successfully expand Georgia-Pacific Recycling’s commodity trading portfolio to include metals and plastics, and that he also was the driving force behind the development and launch of hubbIT, the company’s award-winning digital trading platform.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our GP Recycling team and everything we’ve achieved,” Forman says. “From transforming the business into one of the world’s largest wastepaper trading companies to expanding into recycled metals and plastics and launching hubbIT, none of this would have been possible without the team’s relentless effort and ingenuity. It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch you learn, grow and succeed up close, and I feel fortunate to have played even a small part in that journey.”

“As many of you know, I’m passionate about recycling and a big believer in the power of the free market to foster creative solutions—even for the trashiest of waste problems. Throughout my career, I’ve championed recycling’s benefits and advocated for principled, market-driven and sustainable waste management policies to government officials, industry groups such as the American Forest & Paper Association and ReMA and within GP. Even in retirement, I expect to remain a staunch advocate for recycling and market-based solutions.”

According to PSI, Forman will transition his responsibilities to Brandon Bennett, president of containerboard and kraft at Georgia-Pacific. In retirement, Forman plans to divide his time between the New York metro area and Florida, enjoying as much time as possible with his family—especially his three grandchildren.

Read more about how Forman and Georgia-Pacific Recycling built a global recycling business in a 2023 interview with Recycling Today.