Criterion 6, Indicator 33: 

Recovery or Recycling 

of Forest Products 

as a Percentage of 

Total Forest Products 

Consumption

Ken Skog

James Howard

Rebecca Westby

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Forest

Products

Laboratory

Research

Note

FPL–RN–0321
January 2011

Skog, Ken; Howard, James; Westby, Rebecca. 2011. Criterion 6, indicator 

33: recovery or recycling of forest products as a percentage of total forest 

products consumption. Research Note FPL-RN-0321. Madison, WI: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. 9 p.

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Abstract

This indicator shows the trend in recovering wood and paper 

for reuse in products in the United States. This reuse can 

hold down the need to harvest wood to meet U.S. consumption needs. The paper recycling rate (utilization rate in 

producing new paper) increased from 22% to 38% between 

1970 and 1996, but then stabilized at 37% to 38% between 

1996 and 2006. This rate has been stable despite continuing 

increase in the recovery rate of paper in the 1990s though 

2006 to 51% because increases in recovery after the mid 

1990s have been exported. The effects of increasing recovery after the mid 1990s were felt primarily in offsetting 

harvest in other countries and not in the United States. The 

estimated recovered wood utilization rate is highly uncertain, but is estimated to have increased from an insignificant 

amount in 1990 to 10% in 2006. The recovered wood utilization rate for wood pallets alone has increased from 2% in 

1993 to 34% in 2000 and 38% in 2006. A rough estimate of 

the recycling rate (utilization rate) of post-consumer wood 

and paper into burning with energy generation is 15% to 

20% for the period 1990 to 2006. 

Keywords: wood recycling, paper recycling, recovery rate, 

utilization rate, recycling rate

Contents

Indicator Background............................................................1

 Verbatim Montreal Process Technical Advisory 

 Committee Notes ..............................................................1

 Comments and Clarifications............................................2

Indicator Development..........................................................2

 Data Used to Address Indicator ........................................2

 Analysis Techniques..........................................................2

 Data Issues (Replicability, Availability, Precision 

 and Potential Bias)............................................................4

Indicator Interpretation and Discussion................................4

 Indicator Results ...............................................................4

 Assessment of Ability to Measure Underlying Concern...6

 Suggested Steps for Improvement ....................................6

Cross-Cutting Issues and Relation to Other Indicators.........6

Concluding Remarks.............................................................8

Literature Cited .....................................................................8
Criterion 6, Indicator 33: Recovery 

or Recycling of Forest Products as a 

Percentage of Total Forest Products 

Consumption

Ken Skog, Supervisory Research Forester

James Howard, Economist

Rebecca Westby, Economic Assistant

Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin

Indicator Background

The purpose of this report is to provide information on the 

rationale and data provided for Indicator 33 for the U.S. National Report on Sustainable Forests—2010. Information on 

the rationale for the Indicator and recommended data to be 

developed are taken from the report of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Montreal Process (MP).

Verbatim Montreal Process Technical 

Advisory Committee Notes

Rationale

This indicator identifies the extent to which forest products 

are recycled or reused and provides a measure of the national efficiency of forest products usage. Recovered products are an important raw material for many forest products 

industries as well as some industries outside the wood products sector. Recycling forest products reduces the quantity 

of waste incinerated or deposited in landfills and enables a 

country to increase consumption of wood products without 

an increase in timber harvesting—both of which are positive 

influences on sustainability.

Measurement

The measurements desired are as follows:

•	 The first measurement is the volume of paper and solid 

wood products reduced to wood fiber that is recovered 

from the post-consumer waste stream and used as a raw 

material by some other producer or end user. The fiber 

volumes for various products recovered and recycled 

should be converted into the same volume units used by 

the consumption indicator to facilitate computation of the 

percentage. Some recyclers may be forest products firms, 

whereas others may be outside the forest products sector. 

For example, recycled paper and cardboard are important feedstock for some paper makers. Recycled wood 

fiber is also used outside the forest sector; for example, to 

strengthen wood–plastic composites and as landscaping 

mulch and bedding for farm animals. To the extent that 

fiber volumes for these uses outside the forest sector can 

be obtained, they may be included in this indicator.

•	 The next measurement is the volume of solid wood products recovered from the post-consumer waste stream that 

is reused again. Examples of solid wood products that 

are recovered and reused include shipping pallets reused 

in the manufacturing and transportation industries and 

lumber removed from the demolition waste stream and 

reused. This volume is reported as a percentage of the 

original production (e.g., percentage of shipping pallets 

reused as a percentage of total pallet production).

•	 The third measurement is the volume of wood fiber and 

solid wood products recovered from the post-consumer 

waste stream and used to produce wood-based energy. 

Conventional energy technologies typically rely on incineration, but emerging technologies to convert wood fiber 

into methanol/ethanol may also use recycled wood fiber 

and products. This volume is reported as a percentage of 

total forest biomass fuel feedstocks, under Indicator 5.c 

(Indicator 24).

•	 Although this indicator focuses on volumes because of 

the desire to represent recycling as a percentage of total 

consumption volume, information on the value of the 

recycled materials may also be available. Depending on 

national circumstances, reporting the available value information may help to illustrate the importance of recycling and recovery.

For many countries, official government sources report the 

quantity of paper and paper products recovered. Similar 

sources may also report the quantity of other wood-based 

products recovered/reused, such as products used in construction. Industry associations (notably in the pulp and paper sector) also collect and report similar information.

As used in this indicator, “recovery” means identifying 

wood fiber and wood products as part of the post-consumer 

waste stream and effectively removing it from that waste 

stream. Recovery may be made more efficient and effective 
Research Note FPL–RN–0321

2

through regulations that require consumers to sort waste paper and wood products from other solid waste.

The word “recycling” means that recovered wood fiber 

and wood products are used as raw materials for another 

manufacturing process (e.g., used cardboard remanufactured 

into new cardboard) or through transformation into a new 

product (e.g., shredded paper reused as landscape mulch or 

animal bedding).

The word “reuse” means that a wood product is recovered 

after initial use and reused again for the same purpose 

without remanufacturing or transformation. For example, 

shipping pallets are often reused within the transportation 

industry.

This indicator also emphasizes recovery from the “postconsumer” waste stream. Often, primary or secondary 

manufacturers of wood products will generate waste as part 

of their production process and immediately recycle the 

waste back into their production process. Examples include 

plywood mills that convert peeler cores into chips for producing oriented strandboard or paper mill feedstock and paper mills that recycle waste paper from their paper-making 

or converting operations immediately back into the pulping 

operation.

The intent of this indicator is to compare recycling to consumption, so the volumes identified should be limited to 

volumes recovered from the post-consumer waste stream 

and should not attempt to estimate volumes recycled by 

manufacturers as part of their primary or secondary processing before products are used by consumers.

Comments and Clarifications

Additions and Clarifications to Rationale

The TAC guidance seems to focus on estimating the recovery rate for wood and paper—the amount of wood or paper 

recovered in a year divided by the amount consumed. This 

measure indicates the effectiveness of efforts to capture 

material after use for reuse in general—for both domestic 

use and export. However, it seems better to estimate the recycling rate (also termed utilization rate) in order to suggest 

the effectiveness of using recovered materials to offset use 

of virgin wood from U.S. forests for products. It seems there 

should be at least equal emphasis on estimating recycling 

rate (utilization rate) given the TAC interest in knowing 

what “enables a country to increase consumption of wood 

products without an increase in timber harvesting.” We focus on estimating recycling rate (utilization rate).

Additions and Clarifications to Measurement

In the United States, the term “utilization rate” means the 

same as “recycling rate” used in the TAC guidance. We use 

both terms to indicate the amount of wood or paper that is 

used in making new products divided by total production in 

a given year.

When estimating recycling rate (utilization rate) of old pallet parts in making new pallets for the United States, we 

assume that the measure is for parts of pallets and that those 

would not be characterized as “reuse.” We assume that the 

old pallets that undergo some degree of repair are not “without remanufacturing or transformation” labels.

The TAC guidance asks for information on post-consumer 

wood fiber and wood products as a percentage of total forest 

biomass fuel feedstocks that is reported under indicator 5.c. 

(Indicator 24). For the United States, we know that some 

portion of wood and paper from the municipal solid waste 

stream and some portion of wood in construction and demolition waste is burned, but we have not obtained information 

on how much is burned for energy production.

Indicator Development

Data Used to Address Indicator

General Description

Data are obtained from industry and Federal government 

sources to estimate recovery rates and recycling rates (utilization rates) for paper and wood used to make products and 

from recycling rates (utilization rates) to make energy. All 

rates are for reuse of post-consumer wood and paper.

Specific Data Sources

Data are provided to estimate the following:

•	 Recovery rate of paper from domestic consumption, indicating which portions are used for domestic production 

(recycling rate/utilization rate) and for exports (Table 1, 

AF&PA 2002; Howard 2007).

•	 Recycling rate (utilization rate) for solidwood products 

into new products (Tables 2 and 3; Howard 2007; White 

2004; USEPA 2007, 2008).

•	 Recycling rate (utilization rate) for paper products by 

region (Table 4, AF&PA 2007. [not in references])

•	 Recycling rate of wood and paper from municipal solid 

waste (MSW) into energy production (Tables 5 and 6). 

This is the percentage of total wood plus paper energy 

consumption that is from wood and paper in MSW 

(USEPA 2007; Howard 2007).

Analysis Techniques

Specific Steps Taken

To estimate the annual recycling rate (utilization rate) for 

solidwood products, a number of assumptions and steps are 

used. We assume that the following amounts of solidwood 

are recycled and appear (as weights) in the numerator of the 

recycling rate ratio (only post-consumer waste sources are 

included):

•	 The wood contained in all recycled wood pallets 

(Table 7).
Criterion 6, Indicator 33

3

Table 1—Recovered paper consumption, imports, exports, recovery rate, and recycling rate (utilization rate), 1965–2006a

Year 

Paper and 

board,

new

supplyb

(1,000 

tons)

(1)

Paper and 

board

productionc

(1,000 

tons)

(2)

Consumed 

at paper 

and board 

mills 

(1,000 

tons)

(3)

Consumed

for molded

pulp,

insulation,

and other

uses

(1,000 

tons)

(4)

Exports

(1,000 

tons)

(5)

Imports

(1,000 

tons)

(6)

Total 

recovered 

paper 

(1,000 

tons)

(7) = (3) + (5)–(6)

Recovery 

rate

(%)

(8) = (7)/(1) 

Utilization

rate

(%)

(9) = (3)/(2)

Exported 

(%)

(10) = (5)/(7) 

1965 48,270 40,489 10,231 — 292 108 — — 25.3 — 

1966 52,118 43,904 10,564 — 246 113 — — 24.1 — 

1967 51,435 43,745 9,888 — 262 86 — — 22.6 — 

1968 54,351 47,085 10,222 — 253 93 — — 21.7 — 

1969 57,423 49,824 11,969 — 289 75 — — 24.0 — 

1970 55,969 48,719 11,803 418 408 67 12,562 22.4 24.2 3.2 

1971 57,450 49,741 12,106 442 419 68 12,899 22.4 24.3 3.2 

1972 62,040 53,842 12,925 447 415 88 13,699 22.1 24.0 3.0 

1973 65,004 56,346 14,094 499 683 87 15,189 23.4 25.0 4.5 

1974 63,308 55,756 13,982 489 1,307 89 15,689 24.8 25.1 8.3 

1975 54,113 47,997 11,748 535 861 72 13,072 24.2 24.5 6.6 

1976 62,014 54,993 13,622 630 1,273 106 15,419 24.9 24.8 8.3 

1977 64,243 56,656 14,058 870 1,512 92 16,348 25.4 24.8 9.2 

1978 67,787 58,571 14,760 502 1,613 70 16,805 24.8 25.2 9.6 

1979 69,796 61,070 15,361 509 2,127 78 17,919 25.7 25.2 11.9 

1980 67,166 61,042 14,922 472 2,636 87 17,943 26.7 24.4 14.7 

1981 67,957 62,109 15,037 480 2,282 79 17,720 26.1 24.2 12.9 

1982 64,730 59,290 14,433 487 2,233 74 17,078 26.4 24.3 13.1 

1983 71,166 64,947 15,638 474 2,705 100 18,727 26.3 24.1 14.4 

1984 76,937 68,449 16,724 459 3,456 110 20,530 26.7 24.4 16.8 

1985 76,138 66,983 16,371 529 3,560 88 20,369 26.8 24.4 17.5 

1986 79,755 70,905 17,934 594 4,093 99 22,521 28.2 25.3 18.2 

1987 83,491 74,361 18,694 657 4,809 127 24,033 28.8 25.1 20.0 

1988 85,718 76,587 19,685 703 5,953 161 26,179 30.5 25.7 22.7 

1989 85,373 76,786 20,220 722 6,307 173 27,077 31.7 26.3 23.3 

1990 86,796 78,679 21,736 994 6,505 123 29,112 33.5 27.6 22.3 

1991 85,071 79,427 23,662 1,063 6,598 122 31,201 36.7 29.8 21.1 

1992 88,273 82,868 26,185 1,137 6,782 150 33,954 38.5 31.6 20.0 

1993 91,538 84,857 28,011 1,216 6,371 138 35,460 38.7 33.0 18.0 

1994 95,718 89,080 30,670 1,300 7,974 253 39,691 41.5 34.4 20.1 

1995 96,062 89,450 31,391 1,390 9,908 498 42,191 43.9 35.1 23.5 

1996 94,490 90,450 33,981 1,487 8,084 474 43,077 45.6 37.6 18.8 

1997 99,637 95,097 35,208 1,590 7,882 693 43,956 44.2 37.0 17.9 

1998 101,137 94,586 35,770 1,700 8,117 511 45,076 44.6 37.8 18.0 

1999 103,317 97,020 36,727 2,000 8,517 426 46,818 44.0 37.2 18.0 

2000 102,811 94,491 35,447 2,200 10,272 608 45,111 43.9 37.5 22.8 

2001 97,394 88,913 34,527 2,200 10,597 328 44,796 46.0 38.8 23.7 

2002 98,976 89,687 34,579 2,200 11,267 411 45,435 45.9 38.6 24.8 

2003 98,016 88,388 33,650 2,200 13,805 399 47,056 48.0 38.1 29.3 

2004 101,882 91,901 34,736 2,200 13,910 558 48,088 47.2 37.8 28.9 

2005 99,565 91,108 33,950 2,000 15,868 545 49,273 49.5 37.3 32.2 

2006 100,198 92,224 34,471 2,000 17,501 483 51,489 51.4 37.4 34.0 

a

Sources: Howard (2007), table 47; AF&PA (2002), p. 4. 

b

Production plus imports minus exports; includes paper, paperboard, wet machine board, and construction paper and board. c

Production excluding wet machine board and construction paper and board. 
4

Research Note FPL–RN–0321

•	 One-half of the wood that is recovered for reuse from 

municipal solid waste (we exclude the other half of wood 

from MSW because we assume it goes for uses that do 

not displace wood products use; e.g., mulch).

We assume that currently negligible amounts of wood recovered from demolition and construction sites go for reuse 

as solidwood products, and we do not include any part of 

them in the recycling rate numerator. We assume that recovered amounts in the numerator are all used in the United 

States with no exports.

The denominator of the recycling rate ratio is the weight of 

solidwood products produced in a year plus the products 

from waste wood as contained in the numerator (Table 2).

To estimate the recycling rate for wood and paper used to 

generate energy, we use the following steps to estimate the 

numerator and denominator. The numerator includes an 

estimate of wood and paper from municipal solid waste that 

is burned for energy (measured in energy content, quadrillion Btus). This estimate is made by multiplying total MSW 

used for fuel by the estimated fraction in 2006 that was from 

wood and paper (75%) (Tables 5 and 6). We assume all this 

recovered and burned amount was burned in the United 

States. The denominator includes all wood burned for energy (Table 8) plus the part of the numerator that is waste 

paper burned for energy (77%) (Table 6). The resulting recycling rate (utilization rate) is shown in Table 6.

Data Issues (Replicability, Availability, 

Precision and Potential Bias)

Data used to estimate paper recovery rate and recycling rate 

(utilization rate) are based on continuing surveys of industry and are available replicable with known precision and 

judged to be unbiased. Data used to estimate recycling rate 

for solidwood products are based on intermittent surveys 

that may not be available or replicable in the future. Precision and bias are uncertain. Data used to estimate recycling 

rate for wood and paper in wood energy are based on continuing surveys that are expected to be available and replicable but use assumptions about categories and use rates 

where precision and bias are not known. It is likely that assumptions could be improved.

Indicator Interpretation and 

Discussion

Indicator Results

This indicator identifies the extent to which forest products 

are recycled or reused and provides a measure of the national efficiency of forest products usage. Recovered products are an important raw material for many forest products 

industries as well as some industries outside the wood products sector. Recycling forest products reduces the quantity 

of waste incinerated or deposited in landfills and enables a 

country to increase consumption of wood products without 

an increase in timber harvesting—both of which are positive 

influences on sustainability.

Key sources of post-consumer wood and paper materials 

that are recovered for reuse in products include paper and 

paperboard, wood pallets, construction waste, demolition 

waste, and wood/paper in municipal solid waste. For this indicator, recovered amounts do not include amounts of waste 

wood and paper that are used for energy.

There are two basic measures used for this indicator:

•	 The recovery rate is the amount of wood or paper recovered for reuse in products (includes exports) divided by 

the amount of source products consumed in a year.

•	 The recycling rate (also termed utilization rate) is the 

amount of wood or paper recovered divided by the 

amount of products produced in a year.

The recycling rate indicates the degree to which use of recovered wood or paper holds down or substitutes for use of 

virgin wood in U.S. production of wood and paper products.

What Does the Indicator Show?

The paper recycling rate (utilization rate) increased from 

22% to 38% between 1970 and 1996, but then stabilized at 

37% to 38% between 1996 and 2006. In contrast, the recovery rate for paper and paperboard increased from 22% in 

1970 to 45% in 1999 and 51% in 2006. The recovery rate 

has continued to increase even though the utilization rate 

has been 37% to 38% because almost all the increase in 

recovery since 1996 has gone to exports. Exports of recovered paper have increased from 3% in 1970 to 18% in 1999 

to 34% in 2006 (Fig. 1). For the purpose of comparison, in 

1999 the total consumption of paper and paper products by 

all developed countries was 252 million tons annually, and 

their average recovery rate was 43%.

The utilization rate of recovered wood products (for reuse 

as wood products) is uncertain because of incomplete data. 

We estimate the amount of recovered wood that is reused for 

products to include all recycled wood pallets and one-half of 

the wood recovered from municipal solid waste. We further 

assume that (1) the other half of wood from municipal solid 

waste (MSW) is used for fuel or uses that do not displace 

wood products use; (2) wood recovered from demolition 

and construction sites goes for uses (e.g., fuel or mulch) that 

do not displace wood products use; (3) the amounts of wood 

recycled via deconstruction are still small; and (4) recovered 

amounts are all used in the United States with no exports. 

With these assumptions, the estimated recovered wood utilization rate has increased from an insignificant amount in 

1990 to 10% in 2006 (Fig. 2). The recovered wood utilization rate for wood pallets alone has increased from 2% in 

1993 to 34% in 2000 and 38% in 2006.

A rough estimate of the recycling rate (utilization rate) of 

post-consumer wood and paper into burning with energy 

generation is 15% to 20% for the period 1990 to 2006. It is 
5

Criterion 6, Indicator 33 Table 2—Recovered wood and paper recycling rate (utilization rate), 1990–2006 (1,000 tons or percentage) Year Wood and paper product production (1,000 tons) (1) Paper and paperboard consumed in U.S. pulp mills (1,000 tons) (2) From MSW (3) From construction sites (4) From demolition sites (5) From wood pallets (6) Total waste wood recycled for products (7) = (3 + 4 + 5 + 6) Total wood and paper supply including recycled wood products (8) = (7 + 1) Total wood and paper used in products (9) = (7 + 2) Utilization as a percentage of total production (9) = (9/8) Production of pulp, paper and paperboard (10) Utilization as a percentage of wood product production (8) = (7/ 1–10 + 7) 

1990 176,164 21,736 130 — — — 130 176,294 21,866 12 85,307 0% 1991 171,482 23,662 241 — — — 241 171,723 23,903 14 86,546 0% 1992 180,125 26,185 352 — — 202 554 180,679 26,739 15 90,885 1% 1993 182,205 28,011 463 — — 1,159 1,622 183,827 29,633 16 92,154 2% 1994 188,569 30,670 574 — — 2,545 3,119 191,688 33,789 18 96,595 3% 1995 187,601 31,391 685 — — 3,150 3,835 191,436 35,226 18 98,582 4% 1996 189,362 33,981 796 — — 4,007 4,803 194,165 38,784 20 98,334 5% 1997 195,566 35,208 907 — — 5,065 5,972 201,538 41,180 20 102,822 6% 1998 196,569 35,770 1,018 — — 5,645 6,663 203,232 42,433 21 101,262 7% 1999 203,229 36,727 1,129 — — 5,872 7,001 210,230 43,728 21 104,801 7% 2000 193,159 35,447 1,240 — — 6,199 7,439 200,598 42,886 21 100,900 7% 2001 182,836 34,527 1,250 — — 6,073 7,323 190,159 41,850 22 95,080 8% 2002 185,987 34,579 1,260 — — 7,157 8,417 194,404 42,996 22 95,890 9% 2003 183,454 33,650 1,275 — — 7,333 8,608 192,062 42,258 22 94,232 9% 2004 192,318 34,736 1,290 — — 7,560 8,850 201,168 43,586 22 98,124 9% 2005 193,153 33,950 1,310 — — 8,366 9,676 202,829 43,626 22 97,256 9% 2006 190,996 34,471 1,310 — — 9,450 10,760 201,756 45,231 22 98,025 10% Sources: Column 1, Howard 2007, table 9. Column 2, Table 1. Column 3, USEPA 2007, 2008. Column 4, Table 4. Note: Wood pallets are assumed to contain 15 board feet of hardwood lumber with a weight of 1.68 tons per thousand board feet. 
6

Research Note FPL–RN–0321

assumed that the only source of post-consumer wood and 

paper that is burned for energy in significant quantities is 

from the municipal solid waste stream, and amounts burned 

from construction and demolition waste are currently small.

How Has It Changed Since 2003?

U.S. recovery of paper has increased from 45% in 1999 to 

51% in 2006, with virtually all of the increase in recovered 

paper going for exports.

Regional Variation and Associated Issues

Total U.S. recovered paper consumed at U.S. mills increased 

by 2% between 2003 and 2006, from 33.7 to 34.5 million 

tons. Recovered paper consumption increased in mills in 

every region except the North. In 2006, the South had the 

highest recovered paper consumption, 15.4 million tons, but 

the lowest recovered paper recycling rate (utilization rate) at 

29%. Next highest consumption was in the North (13.4 million tons) where the recycling rate (utilization rate) was the 

highest at 50%, followed by the Pacific Coast at 4.8 million 

tons (49% recycling rate) (utilization rate) and the Rocky 

Mountains at 1.2 million tons (59% recycling rate) (utilization rate) (Fig. 3).

Assessment of Ability to Measure 

Underlying Concern

It was possible to make estimates of recovery rate and recycling rate for post-consumer wood, paper for wood, paper in 

products, and in energy generation, but some estimates are 

rough.

Congruence of U.S. Results with TAC 

Recommendations

Recycling rate (utilization rate) estimates are emphasized 

in our measurements as a key way to evaluate how reusing 

post-consumer wood and paper may offset use of virgin 

wood rather than using recovery rate estimates as suggested 

by the TAC.

Suggested Steps for Improvement

Data collection on pallet production and recycling may be 

needed to continue making estimates of recycling rate for 

solidwood products. Data collection may also be needed to 

determine how much construction and demolition waste is 

recycled into new products.

Estimates of use of wood and paper in MSW for energy may 

be improved by seeking more information about the make 

up of MSW that is burned for energy.

Cross-Cutting Issues and Relation 

to Other Indicators

The recycling rates (utilization rates) for wood and paper 

influence the amounts and kinds of wood that is harvested 

in the United States (Indicator 13) and the effect of the 

harvest treatments on forest growth (Indicator 11). To the 

extent that recycling decreases harvest jobs, income and 

revenue to landowners are also affected (Indicators 36, 37, 

and 40). These rates also influence the amounts of carbon 

stored in forests (Indicator 22), the length of time carbon 

is stored in products (Indicator 23), and the energy that is 

obtained by burning post-consumer wood and paper (Indicator 24). The degree to which recovered paper is recycled 

in the United States rather than being exported depends on 

the competitiveness of using recycled paper in U.S.-based 

firms compared with having it used in foreign firms. This 

competitiveness is determined in part by the amount of U.S. 

investment in capital (Indicator 34) and in research and education (Indicator 35).

Table 3—Recovered wood and paper 

recycling rates (utilization rates), 

separately and combined (percentage), 

1990–2006 

Year Wood Paper Total 

1990 0 28 12 

1991 0 30 14 

1992 1 32 15 

1993 2 33 16 

1994 3 34 18 

1995 4 35 18 

1996 5 38 20 

1997 6 37 20 

1998 7 38 21 

1999 7 37 21 

2000 7 38 21 

2001 8 39 22 

2002 9 39 22 

2003 9 38 22 

2004 9 38 22 

2005 9 37 22 

2006 10 37 22 

Table 4—Recovered paper consumption, paper 

and paperboard production, and recovered paper 

recycling rate (utilization rate) by region, 2006a

Region 

Recovered

paper 

consumption

Paper and 

paperboard

production 

Utilization

rate

(%)

North 13,420 27,090 50 

South 15,379 53,340 29 

Rocky Mountain 1,152 1,954 59 

Pacific coast 4,777 9,839 49 

U.S. average 34,728 92,223 38 

a

Source: AF&PA 2007. 
7

Criterion 6, Indicator 33

Table 5—Generation of materials in MSW and recovery of wood and paper for combustion with energy 

generation, 2006 (million tons, except where noted)a, b 

Material 

Weight

generated

(1)

Weight

recovered

(2)

Discards to

landfill or to

combustion

with energy

recovery 

(3) = (1)–(2)

Assumed to

be a source 

for

combustion

with energy

recovery 

(4)

Estimated 

combustion

with energy 

recoveryc

(5) = (3)d

(31.4/71.9) 

Estimated 

energy content

of wood and

paper used for

combustion

(quadrillion

BTU)e

(6) = (5)d

(17.2/1,000) 

Paper and paperboard 85.3 44.0 41.3 yes 18.1 0.31 

Glass 13.2 2.9 10.3 — — — 

Metals 

 Steel 14.2 5.1 9.1 — — — 

 Aluminum 3.3 0.7 2.6 — — — 

 Other nonferrous metalsd

 1.7 1.2 0.5 — — — 

 Total metals 19.1 7.0 12.2 — — — 

Plastics 29.5 2.0 27.5 — — — 

Rubber and leather 6.5 0.9 5.7 yes 2.5 — 

Textiles 11.8 1.8 10.0 — — — 

Wood 13.9 1.3 12.6 yes 5.5 0.09 

Other materials 4.6 1.1 3.4 — — — 

Total materials in products 184.0 61.0 123.0 — — — 

Other wastes — — 0.0 — — — 

Food, otherf 31.3 0.7 30.6 — — — 

Yard trimmings 32.4 20.1 12.3 yes 5.4 — 

Miscelaneous inorganic wastes 3.7 Negligibleg 3.7 — — — 

Total other wastes 67.4 20.8 46.6 — — — 

Total municipal solid waste (MSW) 251.3 81.8 169.5 71.9 31.4 0.41 

a

Includes waste from residential, commercial, and institutional sources. 

b

Source: USEPA 2007. 

c

To estimate wood and paper portions of combusted materials, we assume that the same fraction of each identified material is combusted

and the total equals 31.4 million tons. 

d

Includes lead from lead-acid batteries. 

e

One ton equals 17.2 million BTU. 

f

Includes recovery of other MSW organics for composting. g

Less than 5,000 tons or 0.05%.

Table 6—Energy from combustion of wood and paper portions of municipal 

solid waste (MSW) as a percentage of total wood energy consumption in the 

United Statesa

Year 

Total 

MSW 

combusted

for energy 

(1)

Wood and

paper 

combusted

with energy

(2) = (1)b

(0.75) 

Estimated

energy 

content of

wood and 

paper 

combusted

(quadrillion

BTU)

(3) = (2)a

(17.2/1,000) 

Total 

wood

energy 

production

(quadrillion

BTU)

(4)

Total wood 

energy 

production 

plus burning 

of paper 

for energy 

(quadrillion 

BTU)

(5) = (0.77)a

(3)+(4) 

Percentage 

(%)

of total 

wood plus 

paper energy 

consumption

that is 

from wood 

and paper 

in MSW 

(5) = (3/5) 

1990 29.7 22.3 0.38 2.19 2.49 15 

2000 33.7 25.3 0.43 2.26 2.59 17 

2002 33.4 25.1 0.43 1.90 2.23 19 

2004 34.4 25.8 0.44 2.02 2.36 19 

2005 33.4 25.1 0.43 1.83 2.16 20 

2006 31.4 23.6 0.41 2.11 2.43 17 

a

Sources: Column 1, EPA 2007; Column 4, Table 8. 

b

Note: We assume the wood and paper portion of MSW combustion for energy is 75% by weight for 

1990 to 2005, as it was in 2006.
8

Research Note FPL–RN–0321

Concluding Remarks

What does the information on recovery rates and recycling 

rates for wood and paper in products and energy mean for 

sustainable forestry and sustaining benefits from forests? 

The current recycling rates (utilization rates) for paper and 

wood back into product—37% and 10%, respectively—are 

notable, but there is room for these to increase. The continuing increase in recovery rate in the 1990s through 2006 at 

51% was not matched by a continuing increase in recycling 

rate after the mid-1990s, as increases in recovery have been 

going largely for exports. The effects of increasing recovery 

after the mid-1990s were felt primarily in offsetting harvest 

in other countries, not in the United States.

Literature Cited

AF&PA 2007. Paper, paperboard, and wood pulp, 2007 

statistics (data through 2006). Annual statistical summary. 

Washington, DC: American Forest and Paper Association. 

72 p.

AF&PA. 2002. Paper, paperboard, and wood pulp, 2002 

statistics (data through 2001). Annual statistical summary. 

Washington, DC: American Forest and Paper Association. 

82 p.

Howard, J.L. 2007. U.S. timber production, trade, consumption, and price statistics, 1965–2005. FPL–RP–637. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

Forest Products Laboratory. 91 p. http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/

documnts/fplrp/fpl_rp637.pdf. 

Table 7—Estimated wood pallet production in the United States, 1990–2005a

Pallet shipments New pallets Recycled pallets Total, all pallets 

Year 

(Million

current $ 

(1)

(Million 2000 $) 

(2) = (1/producer 

price index 

(PPI)) 

Million 

(3)

Per 2000$ 

(4) = (3/2) 

Million

(5)

Per 2000$ 

(6) = (5/2) 

Million 

(7) = (3+5) Per $

1990 1,845 2,105 363 0.1724 — — 363 — 

1991 1,903 2,168 351 0.1619 — — 351 — 

1992 2,032 2,301 347 0.1508 8 0.0034 355 — 

1993 2,330 2,600 370 0.1423 46 0.0177 416 — 

1994 2,861 3,153 403 0.1278 101 0.0319 504 — 

1995 3,051 3,247 411 0.1266 125 0.0385 536 — 

1996 3,019 3,137 388 0.1237 159 0.0508 547 — 

1997 3,093 3,216 438 0.1363 201 0.0624 639 — 

1998 3,029 3,231 441 0.1364 224 0.0693 665 — 

1999 3,154 3,335 454 0.1361 233 0.0699 687 — 

2000 3,206 3,206 458 0.1429 246 0.0769 705 — 

2001 2,880 2,848 427 0.1501 241 0.0845 668 — 

2002 3,015 3,052 481 0.1576 284 0.0930 765 — 

2003 2,959 2,844 471 0.1655 291 0.1023 761 — 

2004 3,218 2,911 500 0.1718 300 0.1031 800 — 

2005 3,478 2,932 504 0.1718 332 0.1134 836 — 

a

Data on new pallets and recycled pallets from 1995, 1999, and 2004 are from White 2004. For those years, we compute new 

pallets per 2000$ of pallet shipments and recycled pallets per 2000$ of shipments. The per dollar values are interpolated between 

1995, 1999, and 2004. The interpolated per dollar values are multiplied by total value of shipments to obtain intermediate year

estimates of new pallet production and recycled pallet production.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2007. Municipal 

solid waste generation, recycling, and disposal in the United 

States: facts and figures for 2006. EPA–530–F–07–030. 

Washington, DC. 11 p. http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw06.pdf. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2008. Municipal 

solid waste in the United States: 2007 facts and figures. 

EPA–530–R–08–010. Washington, DC. 167 p. http://www.

epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw07-rpt.pdf. 

White, M.S. 2004. Overview of the U.S. pallet industry. 

Presentation at ISO TC51 special seminar, Seoul, Korea. 

November 1, 2004. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Polytechnic 

Institute and State University. http://www.unitload.vt.edu/

presentations/Korea.pdf. Accessed 12/22/2010.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Percent

Recovery rate

Utilization rate

Share of recovered paper that is exported

Figure 1. Paper and paperboard recovery rate, utilization 

rate, and share of recovered paper that is exported, 1970–

2006. Source: Table 1.

Table 7—Estimated wood pallet production in the United States, 1990–2005a

Pallet shipments New pallets Recycled pallets Total, all pallets 

Year 

(Million

current $ 

(1)

(Million 2000 $) 

(2) = (1/producer 

price index 

(PPI)) 

Million 

(3)

Per 2000$ 

(4) = (3/2) 

Million

(5)

Per 2000$ 

(6) = (5/2) 

Million 

(7) = (3+5) Per $

1990 1,845 2,105 363 0.1724 — — 363 — 

1991 1,903 2,168 351 0.1619 — — 351 — 

1992 2,032 2,301 347 0.1508 8 0.0034 355 — 

1993 2,330 2,600 370 0.1423 46 0.0177 416 — 

1994 2,861 3,153 403 0.1278 101 0.0319 504 — 

1995 3,051 3,247 411 0.1266 125 0.0385 536 — 

1996 3,019 3,137 388 0.1237 159 0.0508 547 — 

1997 3,093 3,216 438 0.1363 201 0.0624 639 — 

1998 3,029 3,231 441 0.1364 224 0.0693 665 — 

1999 3,154 3,335 454 0.1361 233 0.0699 687 — 

2000 3,206 3,206 458 0.1429 246 0.0769 705 — 

2001 2,880 2,848 427 0.1501 241 0.0845 668 — 

2002 3,015 3,052 481 0.1576 284 0.0930 765 — 

2003 2,959 2,844 471 0.1655 291 0.1023 761 — 

2004 3,218 2,911 500 0.1718 300 0.1031 800 — 

2005 3,478 2,932 504 0.1718 332 0.1134 836 — 

a

Data on new pallets and recycled pallets from 1995, 1999, and 2004 are from White 2004. For those years, we compute new 

pallets per 2000$ of pallet shipments and recycled pallets per 2000$ of shipments. The per dollar values are interpolated between 

1995, 1999, and 2004. The interpolated per dollar values are multiplied by total value of shipments to obtain intermediate year

estimates of new pallet production and recycled pallet production.
9

Criterion 6, Indicator 33

Table 8—Wood energy use in the United States 1973–2006 

Year 

Trillion Btu 

Total Residential Commercial Industrial 

Electric 

utilities 

1973 1,527.0 354.1 6.7 1,164.9 1.4 

1974 1,537.8 371.0 7.0 1,159.1 0.7 

1975 1,496.9 425.4 8.1 1,063.3 0.2 

1976 1,711.5 481.6 9.1 1,219.9 0.9 

1977 1,836.5 541.8 10.3 1,281.2 3.2 

1978 2,036.2 621.8 11.8 1,400.4 2.0 

1979 2,149.9 728.1 13.8 1,404.9 3.1 

1980 2,482.9 859.0 21.0 1,600.0 2.9 

1981 2,494.6 869.0 21.0 1,602.0 2.6 

1982 2,477.0 937.0 22.0 1,516.0 2.0 

1983 2,639.3 925.0 22.0 1,690.0 2.3 

1984 2,628.8 923.0 22.0 1,679.0 4.8 

1985 2,575.8 899.0 24.0 1,645.0 7.8 

1986 2,518.1 876.0 27.0 1,610.0 5.1 

1987 2,465.2 852.0 29.0 1,576.0 8.2 

1988 2,551.7 885.0 32.0 1,625.0 9.7 

1989 2,637.1 918.0 36.0 1,583.6 99.6 

1990 2,190.6 581.0 39.1 1,441.9 128.5 

1991 2,189.7 613.0 41.1 1,409.8 125.8 

1992 2,290.5 645.0 44.0 1,461.2 140.2 

1993 2,226.9 548.0 45.9 1,483.2 149.8 

1994 2,315.2 537.0 46.1 1,579.7 152.3 

1995 2,419.6 596.0 46.1 1,652.1 125.4 

1996 2,466.8 595.0 50.4 1,683.5 137.9 

1997 2,349.5 433.0 48.9 1,730.6 137.0 

1998 2,175.4 387.1 48.1 1,603.4 136.7 

1999 2,223.7 413.9 52.3 1,619.5 138.0 

2000 2,256.8 433.3 53.2 1,635.9 134.3 

2001 1,979.5 370.0 40.5 1,442.6 126.4 

2002 1,898.8 313.0 39.1 1,396.4 150.2 

2003 1,929.4 359.0 39.8 1,363.3 167.3 

2004 2,015.1 332.3 41.4 1,476.1 165.2 

2005 1,825.5 332.3 41.4 1,284.1 167.6 

2006 2,114.4 390.0 64.8 1,469.4 190.1 

Source: Howard 2007, table 60. 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1990 1995 2000 2005

Utilization (%)

Recovered wood utilization rate

Recovered paper utilization rate

Total recovered wood and paper utilization rate

Figure 2. Recovered wood and utilization rates, separately 

and combined, 1990–2006. Source: Table 3.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

North South Rocky

Mountain

Pacific

Coast

US

Average

Percent 

Figure 3. Recovered paper utilization rate by region, 2006. 

Source: Table 5.