Sustainability is in the DNA of paperboard packaging.  Our industry has been recycling for over one hundred years.  Not just because we are environmentalists, but because it makes financial sense.  Fiber can be recovered only so many times and then you need virgin fiber put back into the system - it’s been that way from the beginning.  Virgin fiber provides strength.

Many years ago, super trees (loblolly pines) were genetically modified to grow to full maturity in about 13 years.  During these years, the trees work to sequester carbon.  These trees are grown like corn. For every tree that is cut down, another ten are planted.  This virgin fiber is used to make a variety of paperboards including Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS) and Coated Natural Kraft (CNK).  Both of these grades have their use in making paperboard packaging from high end cosmetic boxes to beer box carriers. The strength and printability of virgin paperboard is a prerequisite for their use. 

The trimmings, considered post industrial waste from a box plant and bales of corrugated that come from grocery stores and big box stores are recycled and reused to make Clay Coated Newsback (CCNB) and Containerboard (used to make corrugated). These fibers can be recycled a few times and then eventually become so short that they end up in the newsprint market.  Interestingly enough, in recent years with fewer people reading the newspaper, the market has come out of balance and the recycled newsprint content of CCNB has moved away from newsprint to corrugate. 

There are also premium paper mills that run recycled paper for a variety of commercial printing applications such as brochures, letterhead, and corporate reports.  These mills can produce sheets that have great printing surfaces and very high post consumer content. The drawback for packaging applications is that those papers are priced much higher than the three primary UPB grades of SBS, CNK and CCNB.  However, UPB has used this high end paperboard from Monadnock and Neenah Paper for packaging in the past. Each paperboard has its use and niche!