By Melanie Condon and Mindy Bridges
Did you know that forest products manufacturing is a carbon-neutral process or that the paper products manufacturing industry generates about 4.5 percent of total annual U.S. manufacturing GDP? Did you know it's among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 47 states?
If you had joined the group of 30 plus state legislators and legislative staff during NCSL’s Forest Products: Sustainable Paper and Packaging Manufacturing Tour you would!
Before the official start of the Legislative Summit in Minneapolis, NCSL, partnering with the American Forest and Paper Association and its member companies, took a group of legislators—leaders in environmental and economic development issues in their states—on a tour of the International Paper (IP) Recycling Plant and the RockTenn Paper Mill.
The tour began at the IP recycling facility, one of 19 recycling facilities the company owns around the country that account for 12 percent of the U.S.’s total recovered paper. There the legislators and staff learned about the collection and processing of recyclable paper and paper-based packaging, such as cardboard boxes, office paper and printing paper.
From the IP facility, the group, many members of NCSL’s Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee, boarded a bus for a short ride to the RockTenn Paper Mill. The mill manufactures 100 percent recycled containerboard and 100 percent recycled coated paperboard to the tune of more than 8 million tons a year.
NCSL’s now immediate past president, Oregon Senator Bruce Starr (R), said “the purpose of the tour is to see sustainable manufacturing practices first-hand and learn about their impact on the economy. The tour is also designed to spark a timely discussion about public policy decisions that impact the recycling industry.”
In the end, the tour participants were able to “see the forest” through the paper mills and recycling facility and gained an understanding of the economic and environmental benefits of these industries to states and local communities. The tour was one of several pre-conferences and tours that kicked off the Summit week in Minnesota for many legislators and legislative staff. These hands-on experiences provided an opportunity to engage legislators outside of the convention center.
Melanie Condon is a policy specialist with NCSL's Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee. Mindy Bridges is a research analyst in NCSL's Environment, Energy and Transportation Program.
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