FBA Blog
This month the Fibre Box Association (FBA) is celebrating two holidays that allow us to showcase the important value of a balanced fiber system in the corrugated packaging industry.
Today is Earth Day. First celebrated in 1970, more than 50 years ago, Earth Day was originally designed as a day for college students to raise awareness and appreciation for the Earth. Earth Day's message has developed over time and now gives us all a chance to pause, appreciate the beauty of our planet and think about how we're giving back to sustain that beauty for generations to come.
In the corrugated industry, we believe Earth Day is every day and sustainability is core to our manufacturing processes and the end of life for our products. Corrugated boxes are the most recycled packaging material on the planet with a recycling rate that has hovered around 90 percent for the past decade.
As more corrugated boxes arrive on doorsteps, we need consumers help to maintain our recycling success story. So this year, with the help of social media influencers, we’re asking consumers, customers and industry employees to sign the
Corrugated Box Recycling Pledge
. It’s easy to recycle boxes. Simply remove all other packing material from the box, flatten the box, and place it in your recycling bin. Together, we can continue to recycle corrugated boxes and at the same time take care of the Earth for future generations.
Next up, is National Arbor Day taking place on April 30th. The Arbor Day Foundation defines it as a day to plant, nurture and celebrate trees – again something we do every day in the corrugated industry.
As a manufacturing sector, wood products including corrugated packaging, rely on trees harvested from managed forests as a renewable raw material source. We need both new and recycled fibers to maintain a balanced circular system.
In the US, 3.2 million seedlings are planted each day becoming 1.2 billion seedlings planted each year. These seedlings eventually become forests. One-third of US landmass, or 751 million acres, are classified as forestland. Of this, 504 million acres are classified as timberlands. These timberlands are managed forests, many of them on family-owned and operated tree farms.
On these farms, the crop is trees instead of corn, beans, or other agricultural commodities. Like other crops, seedlings which have a 20-30-year growth span, are planted to harvest. Ninety-one percent of the trees harvested in the US are from privately-owned farms – not National parks or naturally open spaces. On these farms, selective harvesting, thinning, brush removal and pruning are some of the sustainable management practices used to help protect the forest from the leading causes of deforestation which include wildfire, disease, and insects.
On these holidays and every day, we should be proud to be part of an industry that values both recycling and forests and works along with Mother Nature to take care of planet Earth. We should be proud of our manufacturing processes that balance our needs from the forest with recycled fibers and work toward efficiencies that strengthen our already circular approach to manufacturing.
Happy Earth Day! Happy Arbor Day!