PAPER RECYCLING CONFERENCE: Boom Times

Peter Engle of Moore & Associates, Atlanta, served as moderator for the session. He presented figures detailing the increase in mixed paper relative to OCC on the domestic and export markets, saying that mixed paper is 62 percent of OCC on the domestic market and from 60 percent to 70 percent of OCC on the export markets.  

Engle said the high price of mixed paper relative to OCC creates new recovery opportunities for the grade, adding that a number of challenges exist, however.  

Recycler must overcome collection economies, as it is currently too expensive to collect mixed paper from small to medium companies, Engle said. Additionally, single-stream collections, the traditional private collector/packer business model and the involvement of the public sector in the form of recycling mandates and landfill bans also offer challenges to increased recovery of mixed paper. 

Engle added that the impetus to increase the supply of mixed paper is demand driven, unlike with old newspapers (ONP) in the 1980s. Another factor that distinguishes the mixed paper boom from the ONP boom of the ‘80s is that the grade contains fiber of higher value.   

Sharyn Dickerson of Athens-Clarke County addressed mixed paper from a municipal viewpoint. The community employs a pay-as-you-throw system with a two-tiered fee structure and has seen a 17 percent decrease in trash since 1999. 

The program involves a dual-stream system that segregates mixed paper from bottles and cans.  

The area’s recycling rates for mixed paper, however, have declined in the last fiscal year from 655 tons in 2002 to 619 tons in 2003. The program recovered the most mixed paper in fiscal year 2001 with 700 tons.  

The Athens-Clarke County system is a public-private partnership based on a 10-year contract with two five-year renewals. It employees a sliding tip-fee scale and 80 percent of the revenues are shared.  

Allen Stein of Gulf Coast Recycling, Beaumont, Texas, offered the view of a private-sector recycler. He said that domestic demand for mixed paper has not grown a lot since 1997. Export demand is the primary driver behind the growth of the grade, having increased from 1.5 million tons to 4.7 million tons from 1997 to 2003. 

Stein said that the recovery rate for mixed paper currently stands at 30 percent, while OCC is at 70 percent, adding that the best opportunities to increase recovery for mixed paper are in areas with high tipping fees. 

He suggested that roll-off containers enable recyclers to set up a collection route most quickly, while containers involve a higher degree of customer maintenance. Additionally, customer education plays an important role in improving the quality of the grade. 

Jeff Kibler of Pratt Industries, Conyers, Ga., offered comments on the mixed paper boom as a collector/packer and end user of the grade. 

Kibler said that if the market is there and the price is right for mixed paper, the processing technology will follow in time. “Mills must embrace new technology to accept varied fiber sources,” he said. He added that he believes that the supply of mixed paper can be expanded without denigrating the quality of the material. 

The contamination Pratt sees in its mixed paper grades are similar to those that it sees in its typical OCC supplies—glass, plastic and wax. Kibler suggested addressing contaminants at the source, with sales reps and drivers serving as an integral part of Pratt’s quality program. 

“Collection of commercial mixed paper can be economically viable for both the supplier and procurer,” Kibler said. “One can collect varied mixed tons as long as the mill is willing to try new fiber sources.” 

The Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show took place in Atlanta in late June. Recycling Today Media Group, a division of GIE Media Inc., Cleveland produces the conference.