Paper Recycling Rate Down in 2013

paper recycling

by | May 7, 2014

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paper recyclingWhile recovered paper consumption at US paper and paperboard mills increased by 230,000 tons in 2013, the overall paper recycling rate slipped from 65.1 percent in 2012 to 63.5 percent in 2013, according to the American Forest & Paper Association.

AF&PA attributes the decline to a 6.3 percent reduction in US exports of recovered paper due to economic weakness in certain key customer markets.

The annual paper recovery rate has nearly doubled since 1990, and the industry has set a goal to exceed 70 percent paper recovery by 2020 as part of its Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability initiative.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article cited a 2013 column by Stephen P. Ashkin, president of The Ashkin Group, that has since been retracted by the author.

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