Old Corrugated Containers - Future Trends in Supply, 1995 Recycling Symposium Proceedings

William P. Moore

Thompson Avant International. Inc.

With the old corrugated container (OCC) recovery rate in the United States now approaching 70%, and the continued mill demand for this grade of recovered paper, a number of questions exist about its future supply trends.

The following areas of interest will be investigated and reported on:

*Where will the next incremental levels of OCC supply come from? As the recovery rate of OCC continues to increase, the only remaining sources are smaller quantity generators. The costs and other unique collection issues surrounding these smaller generators raise some serious questions about this source of material.

*With the higher quality sources of OCC already being used, a demand to look at some of the more contaminated OCC streams is emerging. These include some categories of OCC that have traditionally been discarded including waxed and wet strength material.

*The subject of other recovered paper substitution for OCC is receiving close attention. The practical, technical and economic implications of using other recovered paper grades, old newspaper, mixed paper, residential mixed paper and office paper will be reported.

One of the causes of the cyclical price volatility in the U.S. OCC market is off-shore demand. The influence of exports and future trends in this area and their impact on domestic supply and mill demand will be covered.