Reimagined Recycling Logistics in 2025
Customized waste-management solutions can save money and foster increased productivity—not to mention a healthier environment.
Logistics-related expenses in 2024 cost U.S. businesses more than $2 trillion, representing some 9% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
That soaring amount marks a substantial increase over previous years, according to Logistics Management. These added costs have bottom-line consequences for corporations in nearly every market—consumer product manufacturers, grocery and retail stores, print shops, packaging converters, document destruction, and third-party logistics (3PLs)/ e-commerce fulfillment companies.
The inefficiencies of recycling logistics can pose significant challenges for managers charged with overseeing sustainability, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), packaging, procurement, logistics, warehouse, and/or waste-management initiatives. Working in diverse sectors, these managers face unique operational hurdles regarding several key recyclables, including paper trim and fiber-based packaging and OCC (old corrugated containers).
When recovering paper, cardboard packing materials and other fiber for reuse, optimized recycling logistics can help businesses reduce soaring costs by becoming more efficient and reliable. But how do companies improve overall waste management within their operations? So-called reverse logistics is one consideration. This supply-chain strategy is aimed at value-recovery, cost reduction and streamlining processes.
There also is a growing trend toward leveraging technology to decarbonize and optimize logistics operations, including those employed in the recycling of paper, fiber-based packaging and old corrugated containers (OCC). With deep expertise in these areas, International Paper delivers packaging and recycling solutions, offering tailored approaches to meet the unique needs of different types of businesses. International Paper Recycling’s comprehensive understanding of material streams and experience in optimizing recycling processes at both a local and national, multi location level results in higher recovery rates and greater value for commercial clients. Customized recycling logistics solutions can address specific “pain points,” namely:
- Productivity
- Scheduling (flexibility)
- Reliability
- Environmental impact
Space is money
One of the most common recycling challenges is quite basic, according to Lesley Schlesinger, Recycling Area Manager for the East region: “Believe it or not, recycling trucks not arriving on time or missed pickups entirely is a major obstacle.” for many prospects turned customers. Laura Hannah, her colleague and National Account Sales Representative concurs: “Service reliability is crucial. Our recycling customers separate materials and store them,” she notes, adding that inventory square-footage is expensive—now costing more than $8.30 per square foot, according to WarehousingAndFulfillment.com.
“Once a full truckload of compacted bales is accumulated, all that fiber and paper needs to be moved economically and transported to a mill,” Hannah continues. Such large-volume recycling arrangements are more feasible and sustainable than sending these materials to landfills, which further stresses an earthly environment burdened by an over- abundance of carbon. Hannah summarizes: “Our customers are suppliers of waste materials,” she says, quick to point out that recycling is not their core business nor is it their main interest. “They simply want to get this stuff out of their buildings and off their docks,” stresses Hannah. “And, if they can get some kind of credit for it, that’s a bonus. International Paper Recycling offers both socially responsible and cost-effective solutions, helping customers avoid landfill tipping fees that are a detriment to the environment.
“Additionally, we offer flexible recycling services to fit a company’s schedule, accommodating the ebbs and flows of seasonal spikes and unexpected surges where extra pickups and trailer swaps are often required. Typical turnaround times for our national recycling program accounts range from 24 to 48 hours.” Hannah says.
Tech-optimized route planning & ESG reporting
International Paper Recycling maintains a nationwide network of recycling plants as well as brokerage and national accounts teams with a robust transportation infrastructure, enabling the efficient handling of a range of recycling volumes from small to large, as well as diverse recyclable materials from businesses of all sizes—across a wide geographic reach. The ability to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) are a major part of the value proposition. KPIs are among the metrics used to ensure that logistics traffic is coordinated as efficiently as technologically possible.
With this in mind, International Paper Recycling has developed a powerful technology duo where innovation meets efficiency to service our customers and stakeholders: A software platform called Arrivo® and the IP Pick-Up App.
The IP Pick-Up App is a tool designed for haulers and drivers to simplify route management by capturing location-specific data in real time--tracking bale pickups and inventory levels with precision plus load deliveries and diversions.
This operational data is fed directly into a centralized platform, Arrivo®, powering advanced scheduling, real-time updates, performance analytics and sustainability reporting.
Together, this technology creates a seamless system to enable proactive service, compliance tracking and data-driven decision making as well as reduce time between service and payment.
As part of International Paper’s commitment to transparency, ethical business practices and sustainability, we provide customers on-demand access to additional reporting metrics through our Supplier Portal to view detailed pricing and payment information, shipment status, and volume summaries by grade. Access to this type of information can also help alleviate the burden of ESG reporting.
Additionally, when it comes to optimized route planning, safety plays a crucial--if not the most important--role in the process. International Paper operates off the value of Safety Above All Else to ensure the safety and well-being of every stakeholder in the value chain. To this end, International Paper Recycling works with our customers and partners to safely optimize load patterns to get the most weight on trailers delivering to our recycling facilities and paper mills.
When it comes to managing paper, pallets, fiber-based packaging and OCC, there are some high hurdles to clear for managers of package-converting operations, commercial printing companies and e-commerce fulfillment centers. They can unlock unparalleled productivity gains and cost savings with custom recycling logistics solutions from International Paper Recycling that adapt to varying business needs and industries.
Finding Value
How can you drive costs out of your operation’s supply chain and recycle more in 2025? Schedule a waste-audit consultation with International Paper Recycling’s experts.
Working with More ‘Murfs?’
A “Murph” is recycling industry parlance for a Material Recovery Facility (MRF). These are facilities that use automated systems to sort recyclables through use of conveyor belts, magnets, screens, and optical sorters to separate materials like paper, plastic, and metal from the commingled recycling stream.
Not only does International Paper Recycling work with local commercial businesses or generators of recovered fiber, but we also work with local MRFs. Working with local MRFS often expands our access to residential recycling materials, as MRFS have sorted waste into separate grades. In other instances, MRFs provide localized, third party services to our customers.
By partnering with MRFs, International Paper can pursue closed-loop recycling and achieve higher recovery rates of OCC, cardboard, and other paper materials. These recyclable materials are collected at MRFs and shipped to paper mills like International Paper’s to integrate recycled content into new products. This circular economy approach benefits both businesses and the environment.
