Associations release FAQ for recycling paper shipping sacks

The Paper Shipping Sack Manufacturers’ Association (PSSMA), Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, have released a new FAQ providing helpful information about recycling paper shipping sacks.

Unlined paper shipping sacks that have been used for food ingredients and products can be recycled in the same collection stream as old corrugated containers (OCC), the associations say.

The downloadable PDF answers questions that companies should ask when preparing to add paper shipping sacks to their recycling programs, including:

• what are paper shipping sacks used for?;
• why recycle them?;
• what type of paper shipping sacks qualify for recycling with OCC? How do I recycle them?;
• why are they collected with OCC?;
• what’s in it for me?;
• where can I get more information?;
• how can I tell if a paper shipping sack qualifies for recycling with OCC?;
• what types of paper shipping sacks are most valuable for recycling markets?; and
• are there any paper shipping sacks that cannot be recycled at all?

“Since the paper industry introduced a new recycling logo and campaign to promote the recovery of clean, unlined paper shipping sacks for recycling, millions of sacks bearing the emblem have entered the supply chain,” the associations say in a press release announcing the resource. “The logo can be printed on sacks for food and food-grade products that do not contain polyethylene liners for moisture resistance; these qualifying sacks are now accepted by most mills in the same collection stream as corrugated (OCC) for recycling.” 

PSSMA is the national trade association of U.S. producers of multiwall shipping sacks. It says its mission is to provide its member companies with programs and services which further the industry’s objectives and, in doing so, promote and enhance the welfare of the industry. PSSMA’s sack-producing members produce approximately 90 percent of the multiwall shipping sacks made in the U.S.

AF&PA says it aims to advance a sustainable U.S. pulp, paper, packaging, tissue and wood products manufacturing industry through fact-based public policy and marketplace advocacy.