Washington, D.C. – American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock today applauded the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for bringing together recycling stakeholders, decision makers and government officials to celebrate recycling and identify solutions for a stronger domestic recycling system. Brock attended the second annual America Recycles Summit, hosted by the EPA at its DC-based headquarters on Friday.

“Successful outcomes result from partnership and collaboration. That’s why the EPA deserves a round of applause for bringing together recycling stakeholders, decision makers and government officials to celebrate recycling successes, learn from each other and address the challenges before us. For our part, as an industry we are working to remove confusion about what is recyclable – pizza boxes, for example, which are recyclable.

“Paper and paper-based product manufacturers have a long history of applying sustainable business practices to innovate and adapt to market demands to drive future successes. Take the U.S. paper recovery for recycling rate. In 2018, industry and consumer commitment to increasing the quality and quantity of paper recovered for recycling contributed to a record high 68.1 percent rate. The paper recovery rate has met or exceeded 63 percent for the past decade

“That’s called progress, and we’re eager to share how we achieved it, learn from others and work together to advance the use of all recovered materials to manufacture a wide range of renewable products, create jobs, protect the environment and improve the quality of life for all Americans.”