Use of Recycling Logo Expands to 27 Million Paper Shipping Sacks

The Paper Shipping Sack Manufacturers’ Association (PSSMA), Coopersburg, Penn., USA, has learned that more than 27 million sacks produced by its member companies are now printed with the special recycling emblem (photo), which was developed to encourage end-user recovery of qualified paper shipping sacks (also known as multiwall sacks) with corrugated.

The logo was introduced in 2016 and its usage continues to grow as more companies recognize the benefits of recycling the sacks. Paper shipping sacks that are unlined (containing no plastic coatings or liners), that have been used to package food-grade ingredients, and are shaken clean of all residues, are eligible for recycling in the same recovery stream as corrugated cardboard (old corrugated containers, or OCC). By recovering the bags and boxes together, end-users are able to reduce waste disposal costs while adding to their companies’ sustainability efforts.

Greg Storat, PSSMA president, said that "we are gratified to see our members adopting use of the recycling logo on an increasing number of eligible sacks. This helps companies that receive food-grade products in paper shipping sacks understand that they can be collected with corrugated for recycling, and by educating those users we hope to increase recovery."

The logo design is based on the familiar "Corrugated Recycles" emblem – first introduced in the 1990s – that appears on the vast majority of corrugated boxes today. It shows a paper shipping sack along with the box inside the instantly-recognizable chasing arrows.

For more information about recycling paper shipping sacks, visit PSSMA online, or contact the PSSMA by email, (info@pssma.org) or 610-282-6845. 

PSSMA is the national trade association of the U.S. multiwall packaging industry. It represents companies that manufacture multiwall shipping sacks or that supply materials and services for their manufacture.