The world’s first piece of paper was made from recycled material.  Around 200 B.C., the Chinese used old fishing nets to make the world’s first piece of paper.

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The first American paper mill was founded in 1690 by William Rittenhouse and William Bradford near Philadelphia. By 1810, there were 185 paper mills in the United States.

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Each year, American paper manufacturers produce more than 95 million tons of paper, newsprint and paperboard.

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Port Townsend Paper is the largest private employer in its area, contributing more than $27 million a year to the local economy.

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Paper mills are the nation’s true recycling centers, recycling more than 44 million tons of paper each year.

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Every day, U.S. papermakers recycle enough paper to fill a 15-mile long train.

Environmental performance is now measured in parts per quadrillion. That’s equivalent to a single drop in 1,000 Olympic size swimming pools.

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The average employee tenure at KapStone Kraft Paper Co. is almost 15 years.

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Georgia Pacific alone is responsible for more than 12 percent of the electricity generated from renewable woody biomass in the United States.

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NWPPA members have invested hundreds of millions of  dollars to upgrade their environmental equipment and technology.

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Paper mills are the leading producers and users of carbon-neutral, renewable biomass energy, which produces more energy than solar, wind and geothermal energy combined.

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The Inland Empire Paper Company has continuously operated in Millwood, Washington since 1911.

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Ninety percent of the energy used at KapStone Kraft Paper Co. paper mill is from renewable sources. Constructed in 1883, Georgia-Pacific’s mill in Camas WA manufactured newsprint for Oregon’s first newspaper, the Oregonian.

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Because of recycling efforts by Oregon’s paper mills, nearly 97 percent of the cardboard used in the state is recycled.

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With a payroll of more than $40 million per year, PCA/Boise Inc.’s paper mill at Wallula WA is one of the largest employers in Walla Walla County and constitutes the largest share of the county’s property tax base.

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100 percent of the material used to produce newsprint at Inland Empire Paper Company’s facility near Spokane is wood waste and recycled wastepaper.

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In 2011, the average annual salary of paper manufacturing employees in Lane County, Oregon was more than $82,000.

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Nippon Dynawave's facility in Longview produces enough specialty paper each year to make six billion quart-size milk cartons.

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