Survey Shows 87% of U.S. has Access to Paper Recycling Programs

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Some 87% of the U.S. population has access to curbside and/or drop-off paper and paperboard recycling programs, according to results of the AF&PA 2010 Community Recycling Survey released this past week. Paper recycling access was an important factor in helping the industry exceed its 60% recovery goal three years ahead of schedule, AF&PA notes. In 2009, a record-high 63.4% of paper used in the U.S. was recovered for recycling.

The Community Survey is a national study that measures and tracks the growth of access to community-level paper and paperboard recycling in the U.S. The 2010 study is the latest in a series of such studies funded by AF&PA and conducted by R. W. Beck since 1994. Key findings from the survey include:

• 87% of the U.S. population (273 million people) have access to curbside and/or drop-off paper recycling programs, including: 63% of the U.S. population (193 million people) have access to curbside recycling programs; 68% of the populations (213 million) have access to drop-off recycling programs
• Increased access for some grades collected in existing paper/paperboard recycling programs
• Continued growth in curbside recycling programs employing single-stream collection systems.