Wood fiber from sustainably managed forests is essential to the paper cycle

PAPER CAN BE RECYCLED UP TO 7 TIMES BEFORE THE FIBERS BECOME TOO SHORT AND WEAK AND BREAK DOWN. THAT’S WHY WE NEED A CONTINUOUS SUPPLY OF FRESH FIBER HARVESTED FROM RESPONSIBLY MANAGED FORESTS.

In the U.S. and Canada, the majority of the required fresh wood fiber used in papermaking comes from sawmill chips, which are a by-product of lumber production.

North America benefits from a good supply of recycled fiber which is used locally to manufacture paper products. U.S. paper recovery for recycling reached a record 68.1% in 2018.¹ In Canada, 73% of the paper is recovered.²

• Recovered paper accounts for more than 38% of fiber used to make new paper products in the U.S.³

• Globally, 82% of recovered paper is used in tissue, container boards, and other packaging or board products. Approximately 6% of the recovered paper supply is used in printing and writing grades.⁴

• Of the paper and paperboard recovered in 2018 in the U.S., 36.2% went to produce containerboard (i.e., the material used for corrugated boxes) and 11.5% went to produce boxboard, which includes basestock for folding boxes and gypsum wallboard facings. Net exports of recovered paper to China and other nations accounted for 38.3% of the paper collected for recycling.⁵

• Without fresh wood, the production of paper would cease within 6 to 18 months depending on the paper grade.⁶

• At least 15% of paper products are permanently removed from the fiber cycle, such as one-time use products (ex: tissues, sanitary products, medical supplies) and books or files that are stored for long periods of time.⁷

Please refer to our Two Sides Fact Sheets for more information

¹ American Forest & Paper Association, 2019
² Forest Products Association of Canada, 2014
³ Dovetail Partners, 2016
⁴ Sappi Fine Paper North America, 2013
⁵ American Forest & Paper Association, 2019
⁶ Metafore, 2006
⁷ American Forest & Paper Association, 2011