End users of recycled materials across several sectors have announced plans to shut down or relocate facilities of late. | Worradirek/Shutterstock
The latest earnings calls for recycled paper, glass and plastic end users and processors have brought facility closure and layoff announcements, at times contrasting with recent expansion plans. Continue Reading
Two fiber companies recently announced they are moving away from established price indices. | Mark Agnor/Shutterstock
This story has been corrected.
Packaging Corporation of America will stop linking its customer agreements to third-party pricing indexes, becoming the second major packager to announce similar intentions due to frustration with the leading index. Continue Reading
The announced closures will reduce Greif’s overall containerboard capacity by 100,000 tons and its uncoated recycled paperboard capacity by 90,000 tons. | Safakcakir/Shutterstock
Greif is shutting down a recycled paperboard machine in Georgia and shuttering an uncoated recycled paperboard mill in Massachusetts, citing high operating costs and significant capital investment needs. Continue Reading
The new West Coast facility will be the first U.S. carton processing plant west of Iowa. | Andrei Kuzmik
A new end market for gable-top and aseptic cartons aims to start up in California later this year, providing much-needed carton capacity in the western part of the country.
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As part of a recent report, the U.S. EPA provided new recycling rate estimates, which hadn’t been updated since the agency released 2018 data. | Billion Photos/Shutterstock
The U.S. EPA’s recent recycling infrastructure report was largely focused on the investments needed to improve the system but also included new recycling rate estimates for specific materials, some of the first data updates the agency has released since its last Facts and Figures report several years ago. Continue Reading
Experts from Bloomberg, TetraPak and more forecasted stable-to-higher box shipments and analyzed paper fiber recycling during a recent webinar. | Shu Ba/Shutterstock
Volumes of OCC and mixed paper are shifting with societal and economic trends, industry experts said during a paper industry update webinar presented by the Recycled Materials Association.
Over the course of the year, Greif reported its paper packaging and services division saw $2.3 billion in sales, up 2% year over year. | Pitipat Wongprasit/Shutterstock
Paper packaging giant Greif is the latest containerboard producer to announce a price hike for the recycled fiber end product at the beginning of 2025, employing a tool the company has used throughout this year to offset higher OCC feedstock costs and account for other cost growth. Continue Reading
Continuus Materials’ Iowa facility was acquired by hauler WM only a few years ago. | Courtesy of Continuus
A growing end market for mixed paper, plastic and cartons abruptly closed this fall. Continue Reading
Exports of key recovered materials continued recent trends from July through September of this year, with paper exports declining modestly and plastic exports flat. | apiguide/Shutterstock
Recovered fiber exports have continued a multi-year decline in 2024, both in the third quarter and in the first nine months of the year as a whole. Plastic exports, however, have stayed steady and even slightly increased throughout the year. Continue Reading
The industry group’s recycling rate now considers additional international trade data, allowing it to better capture imported material that ends up in the recycling stream. | Kyna Studio/Shutterstock
The American Forest & Paper Association has overhauled its methodology for calculating fiber recycling rates, bringing a significantly lower OCC recovery figure than the industry previously reported. Continue Reading