The Recycled Paperboard Technical Association is a non-profit association that brings together the expertise of paper mills worldwide that manufacture products from at least 90 percent recovered fiber. RPTA is dedicated to the improvement of the recycled paperboard industry.

RPTA member companies have been recycling recovered paper since the turn of the 20th century. This heritage of responsible resource management has forged a tradition of innovation and ingenuity that is unmatched in the paper-making industry.

Serving the needs of companies engaged in producing recycled paperboard since 1953, RPTA is dedicated to the improvement of the industry through product stewardship, benchmarking, materials investigations, and education.

Read about RPTA's long-standing commitment to the use of recovered fiber and recycling here.

Sustainability News

The U.S. paper recovery rate for recycling is 66% for paper and paper-based packaging. And, it's 89% for cardboard boxes! Separate the myths from the facts.
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As the call for the circularity of product lifecycles is growing louder, paper has always had a head start. The industry's strong support and investment in recycling have transformed the circularity of paper products from vision to reality.
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According to the most recent government data, #paper and paper packaging are recycled more than any other material in the U.S. solid waste stream, including plastics (8.7%), glass (25%), and metals (34.1%). Learn more!
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"Paper Packaging – The Natural Choice" is an excellent resource for facts about the sustainability of paper-based packaging from trusted third-party sources. Download now! Members, you can also customize and share.
Download your booklet today!

The recycling industry's paper recycling segment collects, sorts, and processes the recovered fiber into specification grade products. These products are sold and transported to paper mills for production into new paper products.
Learn more #PaperFacts in our Paper Recovery and Recycling Fact Sheet.
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Environmental labels let consumers know that packaging has certain attributes such as recyclability or compostability, or that it meets certain environmental standards. See the results of the importance of these labels in our study on 2020 U.S. packaging preferences.
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Paper and cardboard packaging rank highest with consumers for many sustainability attributes including home #compostability (69%), better for the #environment (66%) and easier to #recycle (51%).
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Sustainability News Courtesy of Two Sides North America


LATEST NEWS

RPTA Announces Recipients of
2022 Scholarships
Click here for details.

2022 Industry Profile Study
Registration is now open for the 2023 Annual Physical Properties Benchmarking Study.

The 2023 study will include the following grades:

  • Coated Recycled Paperboard: 16, 20, 24, 28 & 32 point
  • Bending Chip: 16, 20, 24 & 28 point
  • High-Strength Tube and Core: 20, 25 & 30 point
  • Linerboard: 26# & 42# and 31# & 35# High Performance (with at least 90% recycled content).
  • Medium: 23 #, 33# & 40# (with at least 50% recycled content.)

If you have not received the required registration and sample submission forms, along with sample requirements, then click here to download the three documents. Samples must be received by RPTA between March 1, 2023 and April 7, 2023

Members can access reports from prior years at this member-only page.

2022 P-T Seminar
Presentations from the May Production-Technical Seminar, are available at this member-only page.

Summer 2022 Webinar
On July 13th we held a webinar on Making Product Suitable for Food Contact. The webinar recording and presentation slides are available at this member-only page.

2022 RPTA Fall Roundtable
On October 19th, we held an in-person seminar on Paper Machine Clothing Design, covering the impact of forming, press and dryer fabrics on paper machine operations. The webinar presentation slides are available at this member-only page.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Winter Webinar (Jan or Feb)
Felt Cleaning and Conditioning
Details to follow.

2023 P-T Seminar (April)
The 2023 Production-Technical Seminar will be held in Atlanta on April 24 and 25, co-located with TAPPICon. RPTA members selected these seminar topics:

  1. Safer Operations
  2. Fiber Recovery Optimization
  3. Process Data Best Practices
  4. Wet End Operations

The Seminar will be moderated by Jeff Lyman, VP Mill Operations, Ox Industries and Mark Murphy, General Manager, Westrock,

Registration and hotel arrangements are managed through TAPPI and details will be communicated as they become available.