Corrugated Packaging Alliance responds to public comments

Chicago, IL— Public comments to the corrugated industry’s new, draft standard for moisture barrier repulpability and recyclability were presented in the Corrugated Packaging Alliance’s March 21 forum in Chicago. Approximately 40 people, representing various stakeholders, attended the two-hour session.

The draft voluntary standard, issued for public comment on February 1, 2005, has been developed by an ad-hoc committee, jointly sponsored by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) and Fibre Box Association (FBA). Participating member companies include Georgia-Pacific, International Paper, Longview Fibre, The Newark Group, Packaging Corporation of America (PCA), Sonoco, Smurfit-Stone, Temple-Inland and Weyerhaeuser.

The standard represents an important part of the corrugated industry’s goal of maximizing the recovery of corrugated in the normal OCC recycle stream. Action steps supporting that goal include encouraging development and use of recyclable products; developing an industry-wide recyclability test; consistently marking all corrugated that can be recovered in the normal OCC recycle stream; and encouraging development of iceless cooling solutions.

The draft standard includes testing protocol for establishing repulpability and recyclability that can be certified by the box manufacturer. Approximately 20 people submitted more than 60 comments and questions for the forum discussion.

A number of technical questions also were raised and answers were provided by the forum leaders: Dwight Schmidt, executive director of the Corrugated Packaging Alliance, and Hal Tanner, consultant to the containerboard and corrugated industries, with input from committee members also in attendance. Detailed comments, questions and answers will be posted on the corrugated industry website (www.corrugated.org) on April 15, 2005, after the committee reviews additional comments received at the forum and in the time remaining before the comment period closes on April 1, 2005.

At that point, properly warranted changes will be made to the draft standard and it will be presented to the appropriate association boards of directors for votes to approve or deny implementation. Results of board actions will be announced in mid-May. If the standard is implemented, the corrugated industry committee will monitor submitted test results on a de-identified basis and review the standard once again for possible modification after 18 months.