To us, it seems only natural to put a plant-based product in a plant-based package. Trees are perennial plants. With a harvest to planting ratio of 1 to 3 trees and a recovery rate of 92 percent, corrugated boxes are made to be remade using both new and recycled plant fibers.

Corrugated is a very traditional form of packaging; it’s been around for 150 years, but it remains on trend today because of consumer desire for sustainable packaging. There’s a tremendous backlash against single-use packaging — particularly plastic — and that’s driven many in the supply chain to look more closely at corrugated because it’s made from a renewable resource, and has a very high recovery rate (92% in 2021). On average, corrugated boxes contain 52% recycled content which means corrugated boxes are made to be remade.

Recycling reduces overall environmental impacts

In addition to supplying vital stock for the manufacture of new paper products, corrugated recycling helps the industry continue reducing its environmental footprint. Life cycle assessments (LCAs) show that the recycled content helps reduce energy consumption and emissions at the mills, waste going to landfills, and subsequent methane generation—lowering impact on global warming potential (GWP). The 2014 LCA revealed a 35 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since the first-ever corrugated industry LCA using 2006 data, along with double-digit reductions in eutrophication, respiratory, and fossil fuel depletion indicators.

Renewing our forests

The US paper and wood products industry plays an important role in ensuring sustainable forest management. Today, one-third of the US is forested, and there are more trees than there were on the first Earth Day celebration 50 years ago. And, a 2012 report from the U.S. Forest Service indicates that more than 3.2 million trees are planted per day in the United States.