The Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC)’s members include more than 30 paper mills and converters operating across Canada, who manufacture paper packaging, such as cardboard boxes, cartons, and bags, that are used and recycled every day.
PPEC is proud that paper packaging is one of Canada’s original circular economies, and the infographic illustrates how packaging is made, and continuously remade into new paper-based packaging, through recycling.
While most paper packaging made in Canada is produced with recycled content, the paper fibres it was originally made from came from a tree. Less than half of one percent of Canadian commercial forests are harvested for paper packaging. Every hectare that’s harvested must be successfully regenerated, and more than 800 seedlings are planted in Canada every minute.
A mill produces the raw material used to make packaging, using mostly recycled content, and responsibly-sourced wood chips and sawmill residues. It’s then formed into big rolls of paper and sent to a converter, where it’s made into packaging products. Once used by the customer, it’s recycled, making its way back to the mill to start the process over again, and remade into new paper packaging.
