Paper Recovery Rate Recorded Notable Decline in the U.S.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The statistics published by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) suggests considerable drop in U.S. paper recovery rates in 2017. The paper recovery rate dipped to 65.8%, as compared with the rate of 67.2% in 2016. Out of the consumption of 77.269 million tons of paper, nearly 50.822 million tons were recovered for recycling. The drop in recovery rates is partly attributed to the restrictions imposed by Chinese administration on exports of recovered paper into that country. Incidentally, AF&PA aims to surpass 70% recovery rate by 2020.

The consumption of recovered paper at U.S. paper and paperboard mills rose marginally by 1.1% in 2017. Over the past five years, the consumption has gone higher by almost 5%.

Out of the 50.822 million tons of paper recovered during 2017, approximately 22.4 million tons were landfilled. The amount of paper going to landfills increased from 20.9 million tons in 2016. However, over the decade, the landfilled paper volume has witnessed tremendous decline. In 2007, the U.S. had landfilled nearly 36 million tons of paper.

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The AF&PA data indicates that 37.7% of the paper collected for recycling in the U.S was exported to China and other countries. The U.S recovered paper exports totaled around 19.159 million tons during the year. The share of exports dropped, when compared with nearly 40% in 2016. The data also suggests that 36% of the recovered paper and paperboard were used in containerboard production. Also, 12% went into boxboard production.

The recovery rate for OCC/Unbleached Kraft papers declined from 92.8% in 2016 to 88.8% in 2017, mainly on account of sharp decline in net exports of OCC. The recovery of newsprint/mechanical papers has declined by 7.2% in 2017. The notable decline in new supply of these grades resulted in overall rise in recovery rate from 72.4% in 2016 to 76.8% in 2017, AF& PA data said.