by Rebecca Walker — March 29, 2010—Paper recovery and recycling continues to grow more rapidly than even industry experts can predict.
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), an industry association that tracks paper use, released its 2009 figures for paper recovery and recycling, and found that a record-high 63.4 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered last year for recycling.
The achievement marks the continuation of big leaps in the percentage of paper recovered, even as the overall amount of paper used declines. By surpassing 60 percent recovery, the AF&PA has surpassed its goal three years early.
The American Forest and Paper Association, an industry trade group, has been setting goals for recycling rates since 1990, and handily achieving them. The group set a target of 55 percent in 2005, but surpassed it so quickly that a new goal of 60 percent by 2012 goal was put in place.
