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.
Recovered fiber exports jumped from 7.4 million short tons in the first half of 2020 to 9.0 million short tons this year. | Sreytoch Lann / Shutterstock
Recovered fiber exports increased significantly during the first six months of 2021 compared with the same period last year, with a spike in material moving to India and Thailand. Plastic exports were steady year over year.
Pratt has announced plans for a 450,000-square-foot paper mill and a 700,000-square-foot adjacent corrugating plant. | Mark Agnor / Shutterstock
Pratt Industries and Kentucky state officials on July 29 announced the company will build its sixth 100% recycled paper mill in the U.S. The project will break ground next year and is slated to start up in fall 2023.
Traditional coatings on coffee cups add contamination to the recycling process, but Smart Planet Technologies has developed a solution. | Andy Shell / Shutterstock
Leaders at Smart Planet Technologies, which produces a coating that minimizes contamination during the fiber milling process, say they have seen adoption in several global regions. But several factors have limited U.S. growth.
Worldwide, nearly 269 million short tons of recovered fiber were generated in 2019. | nickpeps / Shutterstock
A global report charting recovered fiber trends throughout 2019 found that packaging made up 86% of the end products made from the material. The study also examined fiber generation by region, international trade flows and more.
Indonesia’s 2% contamination rule for recovered fiber imports is likely to take effect in September. | Triawanda Tirta Aditya / Shutterstock
Recovered fiber will be allowed a maximum of 2% contamination when shipped into Indonesia, which is currently the ninth-largest market for U.S. exports of the material.
The Crossroads plans call for a 350,000-tons-per-year containerboard mill that uses 100% old corrugated containers (OCC) and mixed paper. | Pakorn Jarujittipun / Shutterstock
Crossroads Paper recently drew capital from an investment firm as it continues to develop a $320 million containerboard mill that would serve as a big buyer of recycled fiber in the western U.S.
Sonoco plans to bring in domestic curbside fiber grades, which the company views as an affordable feedstock. | PureRadiancePhoto / Shutterstock
A $115 million South Carolina recycled paper mill conversion will allow Sonoco to bring in higher quantities of mixed paper and OCC by October of this year.
Sustana has long had the ability to use aseptic and gable-top cartons as feedstock, at both its U.S. and Canadian facilities. | SunnyToys / Shutterstock
A North American mill operator is sourcing multi-layer cartons to make up for a decline in recycled paper tied to pandemic shutdowns.
