American Forest & Paper Association Releases May 2020 Boxboard Monthly Report

The Circular Plastics Taskforce (CPT) is pleased to announce the support received from the Ministry of Economy and Innovation (MEI), in the form of a financial contribution of over half a million dollars. This grant marks the official start of Phase II of the project led by the CPT, which aims to optimize the management of plastics across the recycling value chain through a better alignment between material recovery facilities (MRFs), recyclers and the needs of the different end markets for post-consumer recycled plastic. The financial partnership with the MEI, made possible thanks to Éco Entreprises Québec’s involvement in financial support management, will allow the launch of the first pilot projects of Phase II, in addition to supporting the coordination of all planned activities. Launched in 2020, the CPT is a collaborative effort of organizations wishing to find concrete solutions to improve the management of post-consumer plastics. It brings together five major food, beverage and packaging companies in Canada (Cascades, Danone Canada, Dyne-a-pak, Keurig Dr Pepper Canada and TC Transcontinental), the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) and Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ).

Retail giant, Amazon, recently delivered a welcome break from the political news media to report on their shift to paper packaging across a significant part of their North American operations. As detailed in a press release on June 20th, 2024, Amazon reported a transition of 95% of their box “filler” from plastic air pillows to a paper void fill solution. This multi-year transition has been enabled by significant investments in their fulfillment operations, the package design engineering teams and sourcing teams. Amazon's leadership in sustainable packaging sets an example for the industry, demonstrating how aligning packaging choices with broader business objectives and sustainability goals can lead to innovative solutions and operational efficiencies. At Pregis, we’re pleased to be an innovation partner with Amazon to support their mission to “Ensure that customers receive their items undamaged, while using as little packaging as possible to avoid waste and prioritizing recyclable materials.” We share in Amazon’s focus on protecting against damage, optimizing packaging material use and designing for circularity (in layman’s terms that means enabling recyclability at end of the products life, so it does not become landfill waste).

Industrial Packaging Corporation (IPC) has announced the addition of a new Kraft Paper Honeycomb panel line in Arcadia, WI, located 40 miles northwest of La Crosse, WI. This new equipment adds to IPC’s Honeycomb capacity, currently supplied from Wilton, IA. With two Honeycomb operations in the Upper Midwest, IPC will better service the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Additionally, this will free up capacity restraints in the Wilton, IA facility to better serve Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. IPC is a family owned and has been in business since 1989. In addition to Kraft Paper Honeycomb, IPC manufactures Build Up A-flute products of Angle Pads, U Channels, and Flat Pads, in Tomahawk, WI, Arcadia, WI and Fort Payne, AL.