Letter to the Editor

I read with great interest your article on mixed paper in your October, 1999 supplementary issue written by Deanne Toto.

In certain ways the article was very misleading pertaining to the grade of mixed paper. The article makes reference to many ideas that don't seem fundamentally sound in our industry. Mr. Dan Krivit of St. Paul, Minn., doesn't feel the industry has the proper specification for mixed paper. In fact, most in the industry not only on the recovered side but also in the consuming side will tell you that the Paper Stock Scrap Specifications Circular, currently PS-98, is an excellent tool for grade specification and standards and practices.

As a past Chairman of the Standards & Practices Committee and Chairman of the Non-Metallic Division, I feel it is important to understand that the grade specifications that are put out are strictly done as a guideline for our industry. Any specific specification for any grade must be done by seller and buyer pertaining to the buyer's needs in consuming the grade of mixed paper for his/her paper mill.

In the article it states the definition of mixed paper by the Institute of Scrap Recycling restricts to groundwood content of the various qualities of paper to less than 10 percent. This comment is true if you look at the definition for mixed paper. But also, there is a definition for Grade #1 Soft Mixed Paper which states that it consists of a mixture of various qualities of paper not limited as to the type, baling or fiber content. For example, let's say a community would like to have a grade classification for mixed paper. This definition would be perfectly acceptable to most paper mills. Basically speaking, you have one grade of mixed paper that covers the groundwood contents and paper from either paper recovery packing plants, printers or office buildings. Mr. Krivit believes the industry needs to choose a definition, specify and stick with it if mixed paper is going to develop into a sustainable commodity.

I feel the industry has chosen a definition, has stuck by it, and let's keep in mind that mixed paper along with old corrugated and newspaper, is one of the three grades that have been traded in our industry for over 100 years. Let's not duplicate the process because one person feels the definition doesn't meet a specific need of a certain area of the country. I am sure if you ask the American Forest Products Association, they will tell you the definition is sufficient among their paper mills. And if not I am sure the paper mills will each issue their own guidelines pertaining to their furnish needs.

As I previously stated, our corporation is a very large consumer of mixed paper and once again I have to argue against the comment that the mill level for consuming mixed paper is sometimes limited. When in fact it is not limited by end users, such as board mills, medium mills and certain tissue mills. They can use the various grades of mixed paper as stated by the PS Circular.

In regard to comments stating that there needs to be better communication between the mills and communities, I believe the education and communication has been there. Many of the communities that deal with corporations such as our own, or our competitors, understand what grades the paper mills can and cannot use. Some paper mills can use boxboard with carrier stock, others cannot. Once again, it is up to the paper mill, which I believe has done so to communicate what it can and cannot use. Let us remember that the paper mill is the customer. The customers we deal with constantly discuss with us as suppliers, both theirs and our needs in determining quality of recovered fiber.

The article states that a definition has to be established and adhered to where there is instability of mixed paper markets to consider. This was stated by Mr. Hale from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Mr. Hale also states the market for mixed paper is at the mercy of higher grade feed stocks. This is probably true, but in reality the market for mixed paper is at the mercy of a supply and demand basis. Since mixed paper is one of the lowest grades consumed by paper mills, it will go up and down as any other grade, depending not only on supply and demand, but various furnish needs by paper mills throughout the U.S.

There are many mills like our own that do not depend on the cardboard market to reach a certain level and then begin to use more mixed paper. Instead, we find that mixed paper is a steady and useable furnish consumed 52 weeks per year on a steady basis, no matter what the OCC market is doing throughout the U.S. and the world.

It was stated in the article that the mixed paper market suffers by the use of sorted office waste. Let's keep in mind that sorted office paper is nothing more than a glorified mixed paper. It has its own standards under the PS Circular and needs to be cleaner than soft mix or mixed paper because it is used primarily by the printing and writing industry and high grade tissue mills. Most mills have higher standards in their furnish than board mills or medium mills. Their tolerance of contaminants is much less, but as the industry grows we are seeing more and more mills being able to use more forms or sorted office paper that contain contaminants, that years ago we thought were never possible, such as labels, stickies, laser print, photocopy and high gloss papers.

Also suggested was that the recovery rate of mixed paper is low. This may not be completely true, because many communities throughout the U.S. report their programs to be newspaper recovery programs, when in fact they are recovering more than newspaper. In most cases they are recovering a soft mixed paper that not only contains newspapers and magazines, but also other qualities of paper from its household sources.

Therefore, when communities are reporting newspaper recovery programs, in fact they may be having a program that is recovering soft mixed paper or residential mixed paper, but it is not classified as that.

Another comment in the article that I would like to defend is where it states that most of the mixed paper collected today is used as a substitute for OCC in recycled paperboard by mills such as The Newark Group and Caraustar, and mills such as Weyerhaeuser. There are so many more mills in the U.S. that also consume mixed paper, such as Sonoco, Republic and Rock-Tenn. Therefore, the structure in place by the industry throughout the country to use as much mixed paper as furnish requirements allow.

The article states that although there are many mills throughout the U.S. these mills could actually work to benefit mixed paper markets in more than one region. I have a hard time understanding what this comment actually means -- "Work to benefit." On behalf of The Newark Group I do know we have made every possible effort to consume as much mixed paper as possible and use it in conjunction with the amount of OCC we use at our paper mills.

In closing, please keep in mind that communities, paper mills and recovery facilities have been and continue to work together in most regions of this country toward a full commitment to use various qualities of mixed paper.
"As an industry, especially in the U.S., we are now competing worldwide, not only with competitors who product our products, but also with the virgin paper mill industry. The secret to selling products, be it tissue, paper or board is the simple fact that it has to be the best of quality. I'm sure that other segments in our industry could have used mixed paper a long time ago if it was possible to produce the product to meet the quality specifications that its sales people have to meet in selling the finish product to the consumers.

Possibly the next time an article like this is written, people and corporations will be interviewed that actually consume this grade and find out what our approach has been for now and the future in terms of quality, quantity and economics when producing recyclable products from recovered paper.

Sincerely yours,

Jonathon M. Gold, senior vice president

The Newark Group Inc.

Recycled Fibers Division