In 2023, the last time Recycling Today published its list of North America’s largest recovered paper consumers, the year started with sluggish box demand and soft pricing for bulk grades—similar to what we’ve seen in 2025.
According to research by Recycling Today and Atlanta-based consultancy Moore & Associates, in the two years since its last list, North American recovered fiber consumption is down, with mills consuming approximately 25.1 million tons of recovered fiber based on 2024 data, down from 30.8 million tons in 2022 ago and 27.8 million tons in 2020.
Smurfit Westrock and International Paper (IP), which ranked first and second in our last list, have tied for the top spot, though both companies have undergone major changes in the last two years.
In 2024, Dublin-based packaging company Smurfit Kappa merged with then WestRock—the largest recovered fiber consumer in North America, and last year, Memphis, Tennessee-based IP acquired DS Smith, a London-based paper packaging company. Both companies consumed about 3.5 million tons of recovered paper in 2024, down from the nearly 5.5 million consumed two years ago. Smurfit Westrock alone has removed about 500,000 tons of capacity from the market over the last year.
The second-largest consumer in North America on this year’s list is Conyers, Georgia-based Pratt Industries, which has upped its intake to 2.7 million tons compared with 2.38 million tons two years ago, closing the gap slightly with IP and Smurfit Westrock.
Costing the company $700 million, Pratt’s 100 percent-recycled paper mill and corrugated box plant in Henderson, Kentucky, opened in September 2023 and has contributed to its increase in total consumption. It’s Pratt’s sixth recycled paper mill in the U.S.
Number 3, Cascades, which tied with Georgia-Pacific, consumed 2 million tons compared with 2.23 million tons two years ago, however, that number could start to increase again as the Kingsey Falls, Quebec-based company ramps up production at its recycled containerboard mill in Ashland, Virginia.
Georgia-Pacific and number four, Bio Pappel, round out the six biggest recovered paper consumers, which is unchanged from two years ago. Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific consumed 2 million tons, down slightly from 2.1 million tons in 2022, while Mexico City-based Bio Pappel’s 1.93 million tons are down from 2.05 million.
Atlanta-based Graphic Packaging International (GPI) moved to fifth on this year’s list (tied with PCA), up from No. 10 on the 2023 list. GPI reported 1.5 million tons of recovered paper consumed as it starts up production at its new recycled paperboard mill in Waco, Texas. The Waco mill is expected to produce 1,500 tons per day of coated recycled paperboard (CRB).
