AF&PA: U.S. Posted Strong Paper Recycling Rates in 2022

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA) reported that paper and cardboard recycling rates in the U.S. continued to hold strong in 2022. These continued to be some of the most highly recycled materials in the country during the previous year.

According to AF&PA, the traditional paper recycling rate was 68% in 2022, more or less stable when compared with the prior year. The cardboard boxes happened to be the most recycled packaging material in the U.S. The traditional recycling rate for cardboard boxes exceeded 93%, higher when matched with the previous year.

Over two-thirds of the paper used in the country are recycled to make new sustainable paper products, AF&PA said. The paper recycling rates has doubled from the levels recorded in 1990s, mainly on account of boosted infrastructure investment by the industry coupled with increased recycling awareness among people. As per estimates, nearly 94% of Americans have access to a community paper recycling program.

The effective recycling rate for total paper recorded slight decline to 73-78%, whereas the effective cardboard recycling rate remained stable at 80-85%. The total weight of paper recovered in the U.S. amounted to 50 million tons in 2022, which is sufficient to fill almost 120 Empire State Buildings.