AF&PA Posted Consistently High Recycling Rate for U.S. Paper Industry

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA) has reported consistently high recycling rate for the U.S. paper industry.

According to the association, nearly 66.2% of paper consumed in the country was recovered for recycling in the previous year. A total of 74 million short tons of finished paper products were sold into the U.S. market in 2019. Out of this, 49 million short tons of fiber products were recycled during the year. The recycling rate for old corrugated containers (OCC) was 92% in 2019. The U.S. paper industry has consistently met or exceeded recycling rate of 63% over the past decade. The recycling rate has nearly doubled when compared with 1990s, the AF&PA report said.

The paper recycling rate for 2019 was slightly lower from the rate of 68.1% recorded in 2018, due to recent turmoil in the export market on account of import restrictions imposed by various countries. For instance, the recovered fiber exports to China reported sharp year-on-year decline by 13.6% during the previous year.

Heidi Brock, President and CEO, AF&PA stated that the country has recycled twice as much paper as compared with the quantity sent to landfills. The association members will continue to invest in manufacturing infrastructure, which in turn will help to boost the paper recycling rates in future, she added.

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