North Pacific Paper Co. (NORPAC), Longview, Washington, is expanding its Longview operations to transform recovered paper into 100 percent recycled papers for boxes, displays, bags and a variety of other packaging products.

According to a news release from NORPAC, the expansion will help solve a difficult environmental challenge resulting from changes in the state’s ability to export recovered paper for recycling, which has sent tons of valuable material to landfills instead. Converting that material to new paper will also safeguard about 400 jobs at the mill.

Secretly Exposed Foreign Workers to Mercury Waste to Increase Corporate Profits and Enrich Themselves

New legislation proposed by the Washington state Department of Ecology hopes to address some of those deficiencies in regional recycling and solid waste management. The ultimate goal is to attract more businesses to recycle and use materials in the state, and offer state help for waste managers at the county and city level as they better plan for how to manage the stuff they collect.

CONTINUE READING AT WASTE ADVANTAGE

From Resource Recycling, by Colin Staub

WestRock and other players in the paper supply chain recently completed a pilot project that collected and recycled 25 million fiber cups from Starbucks.

Through the pilot project, collected Starbucks coffee cups were sent to recycled paper company Sustana, which used the material to create 100 percent post-consumer recycled fiber.

Article from Resource Recycling by Colin Staub

Although China announced they are suspending the inspection process for US material headed to China, from May 4 through June 4, 2018, it did not have a large impact on the commodities we ship.  Mainly, because we export very little material into China anymore.  The continued trade restrictions and bans on the commodities we produce have all but shut the door for us to send recovered materials to them. 

Resource Recycling compiled a great summary of “Recycling Markets Development in the 21st Century,” a workshop co-hosted by the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) and the Association of Oregon Recyclers (AOR) on April 4, 2018.