The Great Paper Chase – Controlling Quality as Paper Recycling Expands

 The year 2003 will be remembered as a year of success.  Thanks to millions of consumers, thousands of municipal recycling programs, state recycling organizations, corporations, government agencies and schools across the country, we have achieved a 50 percent paper recovery rate.  A total of 49.3 million tons of paper was recovered for recycling, a significant milestone in paper recycling history.

This recovery represents an increase of 69 percent since 1990, when only 33.5 percent of the paper consumed in the United States was recycled. Currently, Americans recover approximately 339 pounds of paper for every person in the United States, up from 233 pounds per person in 1990.

More than 80 percent of all paper mills in the United States use recovered paper to make their products with recovered paper representing 37 percent of the raw material used to make new paper and paper products.

Still, greater collection of more high-quality papers is necessary to ensure the continued production of new recycled content paper products.

Why is paper recycling more important than ever? -- Mark Starnes.

The above has been excerpted from an opinion piece written exclusively by Mr. Starnes. The full opinion piece will be included in the November issue of Recyclingn Today Magazine.

Mark Starnes is vice president of Recycling at Weyerhaeuser Company.  He is also chairman of the recovered fiber committee organization within the American Forest and Paper Association.  He can be contacted at mark.starnes@weyerhaeuser.com.