Pratt Industries’ facility in Albany, Ga. | Courtesy of Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission
Two major producers of containerboard made from recycled fiber are growing their presence in the U.S. Pratt Industries will add on to a Georgia box plant, and Atlantic Packaging is working on a major facility in Illinois.
The strong global containerboard demand suggests the U.S. recovered fiber market will continue to export OCC. | ja images / Shutterstock
Paper mills that use a lot of recovered fiber were forced to pay substantially more for OCC over the past few months, reflecting the global strength in corrugated packaging demand.
Nonprofit MRF operator Eureka Recycling is one industry stakeholder implementing creative strategies to find and keep employees.
At the end of the day, after all of the equipment and policies and market investments, recycling still relies on people doing the work. But those employees have been harder to come by lately.
August has brought hot pricing for OCC, mixed paper, PET and HDPE, all important materials extracted from the curbside stream.
