U.S. exports of scrap plastics increased in the first quarter of 2021, with Malaysia as the largest overseas destination. | WWK Photography / Shutterstock
Recovered material exports were up in the first three months of 2021 compared with the prior year. India dominated the paper export market, and Canada brought in nearly a third of all exported plastic.
An idled newsprint mill in Washington state was auctioned recently, and the new owner may convert the plant so that it consumes post-consumer fiber. | safakcakir / Shutterstock
Plans are in the early stages to reopen a shuttered Washington state newsprint mill and convert it for packaging production using recycled fiber.
ND Paper plans to install recycled fiber pulping capacity at its plant in Old Town, Maine. | Vitaliy Kyrychuk / Shutterstock
A virgin fiber mill in Maine will install a line to process more than 70,000 tons per year of recovered fiber – primarily OCC – for packaging production.
The U.S. exported 1.32 million short tons of recovered fiber in February, with India as the top destination. | MAGNIFIER/Shutterstock
U.S. exports of recovered plastic and paper remained consistent in February, despite global trade policy changes for both materials that went into effect at the beginning of the year.
OCC baled for recycling. | Sergej57/Shutterstock
Recycled paper mill operator DS Smith predicts strong growth in corrugated packaging, long after the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have passed, the company’s head of recycling said.
The mill’s completion is on schedule with the initial timeline, which forecast a spring 2021 start-up. | Courtesy of Green Bay Packaging.
Green Bay Packaging this month produced the first reel of paper at its newly completed Wisconsin recycled paper mill, which uses OCC and mixed paper feedstock.
U.S. exports of recovered fiber were up slightly in January 2021 compared to the previous year. | anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock
Exports of U.S. scrap paper and plastic increased in January 2021 compared with 2020, despite China’s exit from the recovered paper market and new Basel Convention regulations on plastic shipments.
The REMADE Institute issued funding to projects exploring a variety of recycling technologies. | Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
A federal initiative focused on energy efficiency in U.S. manufacturing recently selected two dozen recycling projects to support. A majority of the projects are related to plastics recycling, but others target fiber, metals and more.
Inland Empire Paper Company operates a 110-year-old paper mill that uses recycled fiber near Spokane, Wash. | Courtesy of Inland Empire Paper Company
A Pacific Northwest paper mill has begun producing new grades of paper made from recovered fiber, a response to changing end markets and growing customer interest in recycled content.
Several companies forecast that fiber costs will continue to rise throughout 2021. | sylv1rob1/Shutterstock
Paper mill operators anticipate strong demand for corrugated packaging will continue to drive up prices for recovered fiber, according to recent earnings calls.