Rising E-Commerce Demand Impacted Containerboard and Recycling Industry

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Kevin Hudson, senior vice president of Forest Resources and Recycle Fiber, WestRock noted that the recent surge in e-commerce demand has impacted the containerboard and corrugated box industries as well as old corrugated containers (OCC) recycling in several ways. The boom in e-commerce is partly attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic, he added.

According to Hudson, the increased shift to e-commerce platform may not create a surge in demand for cardboard boxes. Obviously, this will bring about changes in collection of boxes. Previously, the collection of old corrugated containers (OCCs) used to be clean and pure. As the focus turn to e-commerce, there will be a volume shift from behind-store collection to residential collection.

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The rise in e-commerce transactions has not returned to normal levels, even after the virus coming under some sort of control. By and large, the U.S. population has accepted e-commerce as a viable alternative to shopping from physical stores. Many large retail stores too have been promoting product delivery to households. The change in preferences by customers is likely to stay, as long as the threat of virus persists.

The demand for innovative environment-friendly sustainable packaging solutions is likely to surge multi-fold in the upcoming years.