Company Operates Zero-landfill Facility through Employee Cooperation and Participation

Ann Arbor, MI - The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) presented Edwards Brothers Malloy with its 2013 Business Leadership Award, which recognizes outstanding paper recycling programs.  The award was presented to John Edwards, President and CEO, and Bill Upton, Vice President of Operations, at the Book Manufacturers’ Institute Spring Management Conference in Hilton Head, South Carolina on April 29^th.

Edwards Brothers Malloy’s Jackson Road plant in Ann Arbor is a zero landfill facility and its other facilities use, reuse or recycle 97.5% of all incoming materials.  An estimated 12,100 lbs of office paper was recycled in 2012 at the Jackson Road plant with a like amount recycled at the company’s other manufacturing plants in Michigan and North Carolina.  Altogether, the company recycled about 25 million lbs of paper or 27,777 lbs per employee.

“AF&PA is proud to honor Edwards Brothers Malloy’s recycling efforts with this year’s Business Leadership Award. They drove their zero-landfill vision by educating their employees on different recyclable grades of paper and paper-based packaging and how to recycle them, and their nearly 100 percent employee participation makes their program particularly impressive,” said Mark Pitts, AF&PA’s executive director of printing & writing papers, who presented the award.

The process centers on employee education and an efficient collection system that presorts paper into 20 different categories as part of daily work flow. The presorted paper is then collected and picked up regularly by a recycling vendor.

“It’s a voluntary system and I’m proud to accept the AF&PA award on behalf of our employees who have clearly demonstrated their commitment to the environment,” said Bill Upton.  “Achieving zero-landfill status at the Jackson Road plant was an important goal for us and we’re pleased to have our efforts recognized by the AF&PA in this way.”

According to the AF&PA, 65.1% of all paper consumed in the United States was recovered for recycling in 2012.  Recycling programs such as Edwards Brothers Malloy’s, combined with the recycling efforts of millions of Americans each day, help drive the industry toward its goal to exceed 70% paper recovery for recycling by 2020.  For more information, visit www.paperrecycles.org.