68.1% of paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling in 2018. The recovered paper market rebounded after China’s import restrictions on recovered products caused the rate to dip in 2017.
U.S. paper recovery for recycling rate statistics are available here
As part of its Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability initiative, the industry aims to exceed 70 percent paper recovery for recycling by 2020.
To give you an idea of how many trees are used for newsprint paper everyday, it takes about 75,000 trees to produce the press run the Sunday edition of the New York Times.
KNOW THE FACTS
- The average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper per year
- That person uses paper from 1.2 trees per year
- 1 ton of paper has 200,000 sheets (24 trees)
- 4 million tons of copy paper are used annually in the US ~96 MILLION TRESS!
RECYCLING
To ensure that paper is recycled into new products, the quality of the paper you put in the recycling bin is important too!
- White and colored paper from home, school or the office.
- Cereal and dry food boxes, shoe boxes, laundry detergent boxes etc.
- All mail and envelopes (including those with windows), postcards, greeting cards, coupon packets, etc.
- Boxes used for over the counter medicine, cosmetics or perfume; bakery or candy boxes, take-out food containers or beverage cups; pizza and frozen food boxes.
- Corrugated cardboard boxes used for packaging or shipping.
- Paper shopping bags from retail stores, grocery stores and restaurants. Clear the bag of any food residues or liquids before putting it in the bin.
- Magazines and catalogs with glossy paper
- Newspaper and Newspaper Inserts
- Juice, milk and aseptic cartons. Remove all liquids before putting in the bin.
- Telephone directories
- Hard or soft cover books, wrapping paper (including the cardboard tube), old business cards etc.
Before placing an item in your recycling bin make sure that it is:
- Dry
- Empty
- Clear of food residue, etc.