Mid America Launches Quality Initiative for Paperboard Industry

Mid America Paper Recycling (MAPR), an independent broker, processor and exporter of recovered paper in the Central U.S., is launching an initiative focused on tracking and increasing the value of the recycling waste streams generated by large commercial printers and paperboard converters.

“The folding carton industry, for example, shipped about 5 million tons of product last year,” said Paul Pirkle, president of MAPR, in a statement. “We work closely with these operators and all companies that recycle waste paper to create a continuous improvement process that helps them identify where waste is generated, establish key collection procedures and set objectives that will continually improve their waste stream’s revenue contribution to the business.”

According to Mid America executives, the manufacturing operations of a typical paper or containerboard plant can generate thousands of tons of pre-consumer, high-grade recyclable paper, production trim waste and paperboard waste annually, which in turn can generate significant revenues for the company. 

Mid America’s recycling management program aims to help producers build a scorecard process by benchmarking, monitoring and continuously upgrading their recycling operations to help them reach their sustainability goals and grow the financial worth of their waste.

“No other company has offered as comprehensive and value-added a solution until now,” added Pirkle. “We understand the challenges and shortcomings companies face in dealing with recycling vendors, equipment, labor and transportation issues. Recyclable materials can be wasted, which doesn’t meet anyone’s environmental goals or boost revenue. But they can also be a significant value-added contributor to the recycler’s profitability if professionally managed. We perform onsite customer assessments and reviews to help them learn how to effectively manage these materials and help them exceed their expectations.”

The first step in the continuous improvement process is MAPR’s new, free Waste Audit Survey, which takes 10 minutes for customers to fill out online but is comprehensive in scope. Customers can launch it on their smartphones via a QR code and take the survey immediately.

Serving as an initial “recycling health scorecard,” the survey results help MAPR determine how each customer captures and recycles waste materials, what’s working and what’s not.

“The audit concept was based on an in-depth voice of customer study we conducted to better understand the challenges our customers face,” explained Pirkle. “Continuous improvement is so important to organizations today in many other areas of their operations, so this audit was designed to bring this same strategic process to their current waste handling practices and build a smart program that continuously improves the worth of their waste.”

Responses to the survey questions are associated with a point scale and averaged into five categories to achieve a scale percentage. This determines an overall waste assessment grade for the customer’s “recycling health,” which the company uses to create an individual recycling plan that maximizes facility efficiency, safety and updates employee training procedures.

The audit taxonomy assesses areas including:

The customer “scorecard” is just the beginning of the quality initiative. After taking the survey, MAPR’s team then develops a custom plan to improve such aspects as the flow of waste through a customer’s facilities, eliminate cost streams and conserve and capture the most value possible. The customer receives a free report and a plan tailored to upgrade their recycling processes and increase revenue growth.

Next, MAPR proceeds with follow-up conversations, onsite visits, mill assessments to match the best one to each paper grade, quarterly reviews on flow reports, rates, payments, recycling values, logistics coordination and more.

Progress in terms of revenues and environmental impacts are also tracked every step of the way, and the data is fed throughout the customer’s operation through regular management reports.

“We find every angle available to minimize waste and maximize returns, support customers by optimizing services and improve training, safety and value, with the visibility and transparency the operation needs,” concluded Pirkle. “Our vision is to become a significant value-added contributor to the paper converter’s waste generation profitability.”