Paper and Packaging
Paper and packaging are essential components of modern life. Communication, food, and consumer products are just a few of the things that are improved upon and more easily accessible as a result of paper and packaging.
The paper and packaging industry is an important part of the U.S. economy. The industry has product sales of $115 billion a year, employs almost 400,000 people, and pays approximately $30 billion in annual compensation. If jobs at supplier industries and jobs associated with re-spending of wages in local communities are included, the industry is responsible for almost 1.3 million jobs. Many of these jobs are in rural communities where alternative employment opportunities are limited.
Meeting consumers’ demand for paper and packaging is only possible now and in the future because of papermakers’ commitment to sustainability.
- In 2009, 63.4 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling. That’s 325 pounds for every man, woman, and child in the U.S.
- U.S paper recovery has grown by 72 percent since 1990, when the paper industry established its first recovery goal to advance recycling;
Links on the upper left of this page provide overviews of the history and facts about paper, recycling, and public policies that impact the production and use of paper.
Paper Products