Keeping Paper Out of Landfills
Our day often starts and ends with paper. From the paper cups we use to serve our morning coffee to the corrugated cardboard we use to ship products across the globe, paper plays an indispensable role in our lives. Whether it’s toilet paper, paper bags, books, or less obvious sources such as LCD TV screens or even our clothing, our world uses a lot of paper.
In fact, it’s estimated that the average American consumes more than 700 pounds of paper each year. Which is good news for our environment, as paper is one of the most sustainably manufactured consumer products in the world. And paper is not only one of the most environmentally friendly ways to package, ship, or serve products or services, it’s also highly recyclable.
The Importance of Recycling Paper
Paper is easily the most recycled substance in the US with overall recycling rates exceeding 63% since 2009, and recycling rates for cardboard reaching as high as 82%. Recycling paper helps protect our environment by allowing paper to reenter the product life cycle, helping to dramatically cut down on the total energy, water, and resources used in paper manufacturing.
However, despite paper’s high recycling rate, there’s still some paper that ends up in landfills and waste disposal plants. When paper is disposed of as waste rather than recycled, it enters landfills where it takes up space which necessitates the creation of additional landfills. It also removes that paper from the recycling cycle which can lead to an increased need for virgin pulp and other materials.
That’s why at NORPAC, we believe that paper recycling can be taken to even greater heights.
NORPAC’s New Recycling Operations
With its new paper recycling plant, NORPAC is expected to be one of the country’s largest consumers and buyers of recycled wastepaper. At NORPAC, we believe that paper will always play a role in ensuring the environmental health and future of our planet. That’s why we’ve invested in one of the world’s largest and most effective paper recycling facilities.
We recently made a $50 million capital investment to expand our ability to transform wastepaper into lightweight recycled paper for use in corrugated boxes and displays, paper bags and other packaging products. Our new facilities allow us to recycle nearly 1 million tons of recovered paper each year. These new products will be 100% manufactured from recycled wastepaper.
Our new recycling facilities not only help us divert hundreds of thousands of metric tons of wastepaper away from landfills each year, they also help our local communities participate in a global effort to prioritize recycling and sustainability. Protecting our environment is a team effort, and can come on a local, national, or international basis.
Protecting the environment of future generations will require a new generation of ideas and innovation. We firmly believe that paper will continue to be a solution and catalyst for sustainability as we build a strong and healthy future. To learn more about NORPAC’s paper recycling capabilities, visit our website for additional resources.
