AF&PA reports continued high paper recycling rate in US

The Washington-based American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released its annual recycling figures early this week, revealing another year of high paper recycling rates in the United States in 2022.

According to the AF&PA, approximately 68 percent of paper consumed in the U.S. was recycled last year, which is consistent with the 2021 paper recycling rate, and remains the highest rate achieved in the U.S. as seen in the AF&PA’s 2022, 2021 and 2018 figures.

The group’s data also show the paper recycling rate in the U.S. has met or exceeded 63 percent every year since 2009. Prior to that, AF&PA numbers show the U.S. paper recycling rate hovering between 48 percent and 56 percent.

Meanwhile, the U.S. old corrugated container (OCC) recycling rate increased to 93.6 percent in 2022 compared with 91.4 percent in 2021. The AF&PA reports a three-year average OCC recycling rate of 91.3 percent.

“Paper and cardboard continue to be some of the most recycled material in the U.S.,” AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock says. “Paper recycling is also one of the best examples of how we as a society are working to respect our environment and contribute to a circular economy.”

The OCC recycling rate, however, has come under question this year, with some in the industry suggesting there may be more cardboard in landfills than previously thought.

After recognizing there may be some gaps in determining an accurate number, the AF&PA’s chief economist examined U.S. Census Bureau data on imports and exports to come up with an “effective” U.S. OCC recycling rate. The group differentiates the effective rate from the annual published rate because of the estimated figures used to calculate the former.

The AF&PA determined the effective rate falls somewhere between 79.2 percent and 84.7 percent.

“[It] includes more data than what’s in the traditional rate, which has been the benchmark that we’ve used over a number of years to measure progress in recycling OCC,” AF&PA Executive Director of Recovered Fiber Brian Hawkinson told Recycling Today in February.

“Paper recycling is a success story and our industry’s commitment continues,” Brock says. “We’re working to use even more recycled paper in manufacturing and set a goal to increase the use of secondary materials like recycled paper in new paper products to 50 percent by 2030. These recycled paper products are a key component to our circular value chain.”