Sustainability is the most festive feeling this year

Holiday gifting season usually involves a lot of wrapping paper, packaging, and shipping boxes. The good news is that Americans are recycling these materials more than ever, according to DS Smith. The sustainable fiber-based packaging company supports the circular paper economy with its flagship Reading, Pennsylvania, facility capable of recycling more than 36,000 tons of used corrugated cardboard each year.

"DS Smith's commitment to sustainability and a circular business model is helping take many of the paper and paper packaging products used during the holidays and throughout the year and to unlock value and recover these elements for continued use," says Keith Tornes, DS Smith's managing director of Paper & Recycling for North America. 

Paper remains one of the most recycled materials

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) announced 65-69 percent of paper available for recovery in the United States was recycled last year. According to AF&PA, 2023 calculations show paper remains one of the most highly recycled materials in America, with the industry recycling nearly 60 percent more today than it did in 1990 when recycling rate goals were first established.

"We trust the findings from AF&PA point to continued consumer and industry shifts and validate our continued investment and efforts to recover and recycle more paper and paper packaging products," says Tornes.

DS Smith works with a variety of organizations such as distribution centers, packaging facilities, retailers, and print shops to recover paper for recycling. The company's process allows for corrugated packaging to be produced, used, collected, and recycled back into corrugated boxes within a cycle of 14 days. This process reduces the amount of fiber used in its boxes by 30 percent.

DS Smith is encouraging consumers to make this a sustainable holiday with more recycling and less waste. 

Here are some suggestions to make your holiday as sustainable as it is festive:

• Using wrapping paper to gift holiday surprises? Make sure your wrapping paper is recyclable, if it can be scrunched up into a ball, and stays scrunched up, then it is fine to put it into your recycling bins. 
• Nothing shows the planet more love than the message of "Happy Holidays" with a sustainable card 
• Things that won't make the nice list of recyclables: tape, sticky labels, decorated boxes with components like glitter, ribbon, Christmas crackers, and even your Christmas tree. 
• Check with your local organizations offering recycling services post-holidays for pick up or drop off options to make use of a great way to clear out after the holiday festivities and remain sustainable.