Hot Topics
Recycled paper board is an important component of an environmentally responsible and sustainable future that can and should be used in a wide number of applications. Here you will be able to keep up with the most pressing issues related to the RPTA and recycled paperboard.
Mineral Oil
Currently, mineral oil in recycled paperboard food packaging has been identified by some researchers as a concern. The safety of recycled paperboard food packaging is of the utmost priority to the paperboard industry. Our packaging complies with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for safe food packaging which establish the levels of suitable purity applicable to food packaging applications in the United States.
Read more here about RPTA and Mineral Oil:
- RPTA Mineral Oil Issue Paper
- Statement on U.K. Food Standards Agency Testing, December 15, 2011
- Critical Analysis of Recent European Publications on Mineral Oil
- UK Food Standards Agency
- FDA's comments on mineral oil in Food Chemical News, March 18, 2011
- North American Response to Draft German Regulation of Mineral Oil in Recycled Paperboard, submitted on behalf of the industry by Graphic Packaging International, submitted June 25, 2013
The Comprehensive Program for Food Contact Paperboard
Over a decade ago, members of the Recycled Paperboard Technical Association developed a comprehensive program to ensure that recycled paperboard can be safely used in food packaging in full compliance with U.S. legal and scientific standards. This program includes regular, ongoing testing that looks for a broad range of potential impurities. It also requires implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices and careful sourcing of recovered fiber to enable manufacturers to assure recycled paperboard is suitably pure.
Read more about the RPTA Comprehensive Program.
LATEST NEWS
Industry Benchmarking Survey
Sampling and sample preparation are complete for the 2025 Profile Study. Samples from 51 paper machines, collected during the first quarter, were blind-coded before shipping to test labs. Report will be issued in early September. All past Survey reports can be accessed at this member-only page.
2025 Winter Webinar
On January 22nd we held a webinar on Recovered Fiber Grades & Quality, presented by Shawn State, President of Pratt Recycling at Pratt Industries, and Pat McEnroe, Product Group Director at Kadant Black Clawson. The recording and Power Point slides from the webinar are available at this RPTA members only site, along with materials from other past RPTA educational events.
UPCOMING EVENTS
2025 Production-Technical Seminar
TAPPICon 2025 will be held May 4 – 7, 2025, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
This year, RPTA’s Production-Technical Seminar will be integrated into TAPPICon.
RPTA members at mills that make 100% (or very high percentage) recycled containerboard, paperboard, or pulp (and their corporate support staff) will register through RPTA for a special, low registration fee of $800.
Included in the $800 fee are TAPPICon and four RPTA exclusive events for our members:
- End Chemistry Mini-Course – May 5, 7:00 to 9:00 am
- Member Lunch – May 5, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
- Member Roundtable Breakfast- May 6, 7:45 to 8:45 am
- Member Networking Room – May 5 and 6, all day
RPTA Operating Board Officers will be chairing three TAPPICon sessions, with RPTA-recruited speakers, on topics of interest to our members:
- Safety Walk/Safety Talk
- Achieving the Right Amount of Strength
- Waste Reduction and Alternative Fuels
Register here for TAPPICon 2025 & RPTA Special Events by April 14, 2025. Nonmembers, and members not associated with recycled mills, should register through TAPPICon.
Keep abreast of TAPPICon Program details and travel information at TAPPICon 2025.