Paper Capacity in the U.S.

Increased Capacity to Use Recycled Paper

The Northeast Recycling Council's (NERC) has published the final update to its Recycled Paper Capacity Increases in North America report. This update reflects continuing progress to use more recycled paper in North America. Read the full press release.

Recycled Paper Capacity Increases In North America 2017 - 2024

North American paper mills saw twin opportunities in 2017. More goods were being sold on-line, increasing the need for boxes, and the Chinese government proposed a ban on importing recycled paper, increasing the need for domestic capacity to recycle used paper products. Their response was to launch an unprecedented expansion in North American capacity to use recycled content. In November 2018, NERC published its first list of new recycled paper content capacity projects. The list had 17 mills, of which three projects were completed. This final update includes new capacity projects at 25 mills, of which 23 have been completed at the time of this report.