As demand for paper products grows in the U.S., so does the demand for the fiber to make the many products Americans use every day. From newspapers to cereal boxes, paper towels to coloring books, textbooks to magazines, office papers to photo papers, paper is a significant part of our daily lives. In an effort to counter declines in recovered paper quality and increases in domestic utilization and exports, the U.S. paper industry is recovering and using more recovered paper than ever before. Access to recovered fiber continues to be a top priority for the paper industry.

The U.S. paper industry has a long and serious commitment to recycling. In 1970, when paper recovery measurement began the recovery rate was 22.4 percent. In 2003, 50.3 percent of all paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling—a 125 percent increase since 1970. For some grades, such as corrugated boxes and newspapers, we recovered 75 percent and 73 percent, respectively, in 2003.

Utilization of recovered paper is also up and almost 80 percent of paper mills in the U.S. use some recovered paper in their production process—from small percentages in some printing-writing grades to 100 percent content in some packaging, newsprint, and tissue grades. More than 37 percent of the paper industry’s fiber needs are met by recovered paper.

The paper and forest products industry is committed to paper recycling and has made it a goal to recover 55 percent of all paper consumed in the U.S. by 2012. That’s enough paper to fill the Empire State Building 23 times! With the help of millions of Americans who recycle, our industry is quickly approaching this goal.

Since the 1990s, U.S. paper companies have invested billions of dollars in new recycling capacity in order to meet demand for recycled content paper products. As the paper industry moves into the future, we will continue to recover paper for recycling because it’s the right thing to do. Through recycling, we are joining millions of Americans in improving tomorrow’s environment today.

From AF&PA