One word: Paper

From: POLITICO's The Long Game - Thursday May 26,2022 04:02 pm

May 26, 2022

THE BIG PICTURE

Paper recycling has increased over time.

For all the harrowing images we’ve seen of fish consuming plastic, oceans filled with trash and overflowing landfills, it’s not all doom and gloom: The U.S. does a decent job at recycling one material in particular.

Paper.

New data out this week from the American Forest & Paper Association shows Americans recycled 68 percent of all paper products used in 2021, more than doubling the 33 percent rate from the early 1990s. And last year’s recycling rate for cardboard boxes was 91.4 percent, the highest rate since 2015.

More paper by weight gets recycled from municipal waste each year than aluminum, glass, steel and plastic combined, AFPA said. In terms of recycling rates, glass, aluminum and plastic don’t even come close to paper, according to the most recent EPA data.

Paper recycling rates are higher than other materials.

Getting recycling of these other materials to the level of paper recycling and beyond has the potential to yield major benefits. Being able to repurpose used materials reduces the need for new materials and the likelihood of more items ending up in landfills and waterways.

Most recycled paper goes into the material that makes cardboard boxes, while smaller percentages go into tissue, boxboard, packaging and construction paper. About one-third is exported.

Why is paper so much more recyclable than other materials? Terry Webber, the vice president of industry affairs for AF&PA, credited investments the industry has made to include recycled paper in the manufacturing process for new products and the end market demand.

“It becomes worth it, economically viable, for communities to invest in programs to collect and recover this material because they can put it on the market and fetch a value for it that helps offset the cost of creating these programs,” he said.

Most recycled paper goes into cardboard boxes.

Now, let’s not get carried away here. The U.S. still falls well below other countries in terms of paper recycling.

But by our standards, compared to other materials, the paper recycling rate is noteworthy.

Keep your eye on this: The forest and paper association opposes a Colorado bill that would create an extended producer responsibility program, a policy approach that places the burden on producers to dispose of post-consumer products. The idea is such a policy would incentivize producers to minimize waste.

But just last week the American Beverage Association and the World Wildlife Fund sat on stage together at POLITICO’s Sustainability Summit and praised the Colorado bill. American Chemistry Council spokesperson Matthew Kastner said the ACC supports EPR programs that keep fees and revenue in the recycling system. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, has yet to sign the bill into law.

YOU TELL US

GAME ON — Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability.

Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn and reporters Lorraine Woellert and Jordan Wolman. Reach us all at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, lwoellert@politico.com and jwolman@politico.com.

Want more? Don’t we all. Sign up for the Long Game. Four days a week and still free!

DON'T MISS THE 2022 GREAT LAKES ECONOMIC FORUM: POLITICO is excited to be the exclusive media partner again at the Council of the Great Lakes Region's bi-national Great Lakes Economic Forum with co-hosts Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot. This premier, intimate networking event, taking place June 26-28 in Chicago, brings together international, national and regional leaders from business, government, academia and the nonprofit sector each year. "Powering Forward" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect key decision-makers with thought leaders and agents of change to identify and advance solutions that will strengthen the region's competitiveness and sustainability in today's competitive climate of trade, innovation, investment, labor mobility and environmental performance. Register today.

WHAT WE'RE CLICKING

— The Biden administration is wading into yet another mining debate, moving to block a mine proposal in a pristine area of Alaska, the New York Times reports.

— HSBC suspended an executive over his remarks on climate change, and now asset managers are split in their reactions. The Financial Times has this one.

— There's a new pledge out of the World Economic Forum: Companies like Microsoft and Ford Motor are committing to buying "green" steel and aluminum.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.