About Recycled Paperboard

You will find a wealth of information regarding recycled paperboard and more at the organizations below. Our industry nurtures an environment where the rate of paper recovery continually increases. According to the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), in 2011, 66.8 percent of all paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling, nearly doubling our rate of paper recovery since 1990. Of that, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2010 85% of all corrugated cardboard in the US was recovered for recycling.

Benefits of Paper Recycling

The environmental benefits of paper recycling are many. Paper recycling:

  • Reduces greenhouse gas emissions that can contribute to climate change by avoiding methane emissions and reducing energy required for a number of paper products.
  • Extends the fiber supply and contributes to carbon sequestration.
  • Saves considerable landfill space.
  • Reduces energy and water consumption.
  • Decreases the need for disposal (i.e., landfill or incineration which decreases the amount of CO2 produced).

Recycling one ton of paper would:

  • Save enough energy to power the average American home for six months.
  • Save 7,000 gallons of water.
  • Save 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one metric ton of carbon equivalent (MTCE).

How is paper recycled by recycled paperboard mills?

Recycled paper processing mills use paper as their feedstock. The recovered paper is combined with water in a large vessel called a pulper that acts like a blender to separate fibers in the paper sheets from each other. The resultant slurry then passes through screens and other separation processes to remove contaminants such as clays, dirt, plastic and metals. The amount of contaminants that are acceptable in the pulp depends upon the type of paper being produced. Mechanical separation equipment includes coarse and fine screens, centrifugal cleaners, and dispersion or kneading units that break apart ink particles.

Recovered fiber can be used to produce new paper products made entirely of recovered fiber (i.e. 100 percent recycled content) or from a blend of recovered and virgin fiber. Fiber cannot, however, be recycled endlessly. It is generally accepted that a fiber can be used five to seven times before it becomes too short (as a result of repulping and other handling) to be useable in new paper products. Recovered paper with long cellulose fibers (such as office paper) has the greatest flexibility for recycling as it can be used to produce new paper products that use either long or short fibers. Recovered paper with short cellulose fibers (such as newspaper) can only be recycled into other products that use short cellulose fibers. For this reason, recovered paper with long fibers is generally of higher value than recovered paper with short fiber.

Click here to see the companies that use the paper you recycle.


LATEST NEWS

RPTA Scholarship
The Recycled Paperboard Technical Association has established (2) $5,000 scholarship to recognize outstanding students who are interested in the recycled paperboard industry.

To qualify, students must meet the following criteria:

  • Earn a 3.25 GPA
  • Declare a Paper Engineering or Science major
  • Served (or intend to serve) as a cooperative student or intern at a recycled paperboard mill
  • Comply with applicable requirements for maintaining paper foundation scholarships of your school
  • Comply with applicable scholarship policies of your school

Click here to access the 2023 Scholarship Application form.

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY March 15, 2023.

For further information please contact: Jackie Howe at (202) 347-9069 or jhowe@rpta.org.

2022 Industry Profile Study
Registration is complete, with 69 paper machines at 48 mills registered. Samples must be received by April 7, 2023, to be included in study.

Members can access reports from prior years 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. Roundtable presentation slides are available at this member-only page.

Winter Webinar
On January 25, 2023, we held a virtual webinar on Felt Cleaning and Conditioning, covering the mechanical and chemical processes to keep felts operating effectively with optimum felt life. The webinar recording and presentation slides are available at this member-only page.

UPCOMING EVENTS

2023 P-T Seminar (April)
The 2023 Production-Technical Seminar will be held in Atlanta on April 24 and 25, co-located with TAPPICon.

  • Safer Operations
  • Fiber Recovery Optimization
  • Process Data Best Practices
  • Wet End Operations

Click here for full RPTA Seminar agenda.

Register @ www.TAPPICon.org

  • Register for the P-T Seminar alone or TAPPICon which includes the Seminar.
  • Early bird rate ends March 24.
  • There are significant mill/company group registration discounts.
  • See "Hotel/Travel" on TAPPI page to plan your trip.

YOU ARE INVITED to two free, RPTA member-only special events, not included with registration.

  • Member Lunch on April 24
  • Roundtable Breakfast on April 25

Click here to attend one or both special events. Deadline to sign up is April 17th.