Product Stewardship

The 2021 AF&PA Access to Recycling Study found 94% of Americans have access to a community paper recycling program.  

The 2021 AF&PA Access to Recycling Study found 79% of Americans have access to residential-curbside recycling programs- an increase of more than 14 million people since our 2014 study.

As we look ahead to 2022, there are potentially other states and jurisdictions that will consider EPR approaches that could have negative consequences for the paper and wood products industry.  

Paper is one of the most widely recycled materials in the U.S. According to the EPA, more paper by weight is recovered for recycling from municipal solid waste streams than plastic, glass, steel, and aluminum combined. Our industry’s success in paper recycling is because our systems are voluntary…

AF&PA commissioned the 2021 Access to Recycling Study. The study is a comprehensive national report that tracks and measures the growth of access to community and paperboard recycling in the U.S. The study shows 94% of Americans have access to community paper recycling programs. And 79% of…

The New York Times covered Maine’s dramatic new recycling law. But they missed the point on paper recycling. AF&PA responded in a letter to the editor.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock issued the following statement in response to the Oregon Legislature passing the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (SB 582).

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock issued the following statement in opposition to the Maine Legislature’s passage of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging (LD 1541).

The New York Daily News recently ran an editorial on Albany’s proposed extended producer responsibility (EPR) bill. We agree with the editorial, and its headline statement to New York lawmakers: “Recycle This Legislative Language."

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock issued the following statement in support of U.S. Senators Rob Portman’s (R-OH) and Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) and Representatives David Joyce’s (R-OH) and Dean Phillips’(D-MN) introduced legislation, the RECYCLE…

Behind the packaging of one’s favorite product is a designer, creating solutions to meet brand and consumer goals. Dana Exner, Manager, Creative Structural Design at Graphic Packaging International, is one of those people.

A recent opinion column in the New York Times (“Recycling in America Is a Mess. A New Bill Could Clean It Up,” by Michael Kimmelman) touched on paper recycling and something called Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR. The article fell short in its characterization…