Did You Know?
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.
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.
Each year, American paper manufacturers produce more than 95 million tons of paper, newsprint and paperboard.
Port Townsend Paper is the largest private employer in its area, contributing more than $27 million a year to the local economy.
Paper mills are the nation’s true recycling centers, recycling more than 44 million tons of paper each year.
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.
The average employee tenure at KapStone Kraft Paper Co. is almost 15 years.
Georgia Pacific alone is responsible for more than 12 percent of the electricity generated from renewable woody biomass in the United States.
NWPPA members have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade their environmental equipment and technology.
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.
The Inland Empire Paper Company has continuously operated in Millwood, Washington since 1911.
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.
Because of recycling efforts by Oregon’s paper mills, nearly 97 percent of the cardboard used in the state is recycled.
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.
100 percent of the material used to produce newsprint at Inland Empire Paper Company’s facility near Spokane is wood waste and recycled wastepaper.
In 2011, the average annual salary of paper manufacturing employees in Lane County, Oregon was more than $82,000.
Nippon Dynawave's facility in Longview produces enough specialty paper each year to make six billion quart-size milk cartons.