Product Stewardship

Paper cups are a sustainable choice and an important part of advancing sustainability goals. Paper cups are made from renewable resources and can be recycled at paper mills.

Minnesota lawmakers are rushing to implement the Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act. We support and encourage Minnesota lawmakers to complete a needs assessment before considering an EPR program. This would help them reach their goals to improve their recycling system.

Are address window envelopes recyclable? Yes! You don’t even have to remove the plastic window. During the repulping process, it gets filtered out.

AF&PA opposes one-size-fits-all policies to address recycling in Massachusetts. Current proposals do not reflect the complexities of the state’s recycling system. We encourage Massachusetts lawmakers to take a more solution-oriented approach and avoid measures that penalize the forest products…

The American Forest & Paper Association is encouraged to see policymakers focus on improving recycling infrastructure. However, we are opposed to rushed, one-size-fits-all policies like S4246A / A5322A that do not reflect the complexities of the state’s recycling system and could impact the…

Cardboard is a highly recyclable material that’s widely accepted for recycling in recycling programs across the U.S. 

New Jersey is the only state in the nation that has banned paper bags. Lawmakers in Trenton can fix this broken law with an amendment to ensure access to paper bags, which are 100% recyclable, as well as reusable and compostable.

What happens when you recycle a milk carton? Cartons are transported to paper mills and recycling plants where they become new products like boxes, toilet paper and even ceiling tiles.

AF&PA is disappointed by the enactment of Colorado’s Producer Responsibility Program for Recycling. Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed HB22-1355 into law, creating an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program that includes paper and paper-based packaging products.

After your local recycling hauler picks up your recycling, it’s taken to a materials recovery facility (MRF) where it’s sorted into like things. Workers remove items that shouldn’t be there, also called contaminants. That includes things like plastic bags, holiday lights, diapers and even…

AF&PA Vice President of Industry Affairs Terry Webber issued a statement in response to the Colorado General Assembly passing (HB22-1355), which would create an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program.

Paper is one of the most widely recycled materials in America. Paper recycling rates in the U.S. have consistently increased in recent decades. The paper industry recycles nearly 60% more paper today than it did in 1990, when the industry set its first recycling rate goal. Our industry’s…