U.S. Paper Industry Nears 50% Recovery Goal

The American Forest & Paper Association reports that the U.S. paper industry recovered 49.4 million tons of paper and paperboard last year, increasing from 45 percent in 1999 to about 48 percent in 2000. The industry association says the 3.5 point percentage gain is among the largest one-year increases. “We are making solid progress toward a goal that was once thought difficult to attain, says Henson Moore, president and CEO of AF&PA. U.S. mills only increased their use of recovered paper by 2.3% in 2000, but production of paper and paperboard declined 2.8%. Exports of recovered paper increased by more than 20% in 2000, with shipments to Canada, China, and Mexico leading the way. Some paper grades such as old newspapers (68% in 1999 to 71% in 2000) and corrugated cardboard (69% to 75%) showed particularly strong recovery rates. Since the industry began measuring progress toward the 50% goal it set in 1995, there has been incremental progress each year. Since then, there has been a 66.6% increase in the recovery rate.

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