2007 AF&PA Community Survey Executive Summary
Since 1994, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has performed a series of national surveys to measure the extent and track the growth of access to community-level paper and paperboard recycling. In recent iterations, the survey has also addressed the prevalence of single-stream collection in curbside recycling systems. This Executive Summary presents background information on the survey methodology and highlights notable findings of the 2007 AF&PA Community Survey (“2007 Survey"), as well as trends from prior years. Complete details can be found in the main body of this report.
Survey Background
According to the U.S. Census Bureau database used for this study, there are a total of 3,141 counties in the United States, containing a population of 306.3 million people and 34,438 communities (as of January 1, 2007). To estimate the extent of paper/paperboard recycling in the U.S., this study relied on the following data gathering strategies:
- Direct Survey of Large Counties: Because recycling is generally more prevalent in populous areas, the survey targeted county-level recycling coordinators from over 1,200 of the most populous counties in the nation. These county-level coordinators were asked to provide paper/paperboard recycling information for the 20,488 communities in their counties. Responses to the direct survey were
received from 88 percent of these communities representing 80 percent of the total population of the U.S. Note that the geographic coverage achieved with these response rates is extremely high and provides high quality data on community
recycling. - Representative Sample of Small Communities: Of the remaining 13,950
communities (covering 5 percent of the U.S. population) not captured in the direct
survey, a random sample of communities was used to extrapolate nationwide totals
for the number of communities with access to paper/paperboard recycling.
Because the random sample results are extrapolated, they are presented with a
range of likely results at a 95 percent confidence interval.
Throughout this report, survey results have been reported using two different metrics. First, results have been reported using the percentage of population with access to paper/paperboard recycling as a basis for measurement. Population is easily understood and can be readily compared against prior surveys and other studies that are relevant or comparable to this one. Second, results are reported based on the number of communities as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, unlike population, the definition of a “community” has changed as a result of the 2000 Census update. Therefore, the definition of a community as applied in this study may differ from other studies that purport to provide similar results, as well as from prior Community Surveys. For this reason, results by population are presented as the primary measurement of survey results, supplemented with results by number of communities with access. For purposes of comparing the 2007 Survey with prior survey results, we have provided the percentages, rather than the absolute number, to somewhat normalize for the differences. Although both of these result sets are presented here, the results by population are most useful for trend analysis and comparison with other data sources.
Results Summary
Notable results of the 2007 AF&PA Community Survey are highlighted in the bullets and graphics that follow.
Sustained High Level of Paper/Paperboard Recycling Programs: Whether measured by the percentage of population or by the number of communities with access, the 2007 Survey suggests that high levels of paper/paperboard curbside and drop-off recycling have been sustained since the survey was last conducted in 2005. Table ES-1 summarizes the population and number of communities with access to paper and paperboard recycling in total, in curbside programs and in drop-off programs.
Table ES-1
2007 Paper/Paperboard Recycling Program Summary
Results by Population with Access |
Results by Community |
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Population (Millions) |
Percent of U.S. Total |
Number of Communities |
Percent of U.S. Total |
|
| Curbside Recycling Programs | 191 |
62% |
10,845 |
31% |
| Drop-off Recycling Programs | 196 |
64% |
20,009 |
58% |
| Total Recycling Programs | 268* |
87% |
24,390 |
71% |
* Note that the total population with access is NOT equal to the sum of curbside and drop-off population with access, due to the fact that many communities have access to both a curbside and a drop-off program.
Meaningful Expansion of Paper Recycling in Existing Programs:The survey found top-line paper recycling program growth. It is of interest to note that recycling access to many of the mixed paper grades – especially direct mail, telephone directories, and coated and uncoated paperboard – has grown since the 2005 Survey. This suggests that communities with existing curbside and drop-off programs are adding additional paper and paperboard categories to these programs. Although it was beyond the scope of this project to evaluate the reasons for program expansions, such expansions would be expected to increase diversion with minimal investment by communities across the country, assuming markets for these paper grades exist.
Figures ES-1 and ES-2 compare the percentage of population and percentage of communities with access to paper/paperboard recycling, respectively. Similar graphics are contained in the body of this report for curbside paper/paperboard recycling and drop off paper/paperboard recycling and are not shown here. “Direct” results represent county-level respondents and the “Extrapolated” results represent the estimate for the remaining portion of the nation’s population developed from the random sampling of small communities.
Figure ES-1 |
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| * “Collecting Paper” refers to the total population with access to at least one category of paper or paperboard recycling program. |
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| * “Collecting Paper” refers to the total number of programs that collect at least one paper or paperboard category. |
Growth in Curbside Recycling Access: There has been growth in access to curbside recycling programs and seems relatively uniform across all material categories. Growth of curbside access is seen in both the larger and smaller communities. This suggests that many communities have added curbside programs since 2005.
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| * “Collecting Paper” refers to the total number of programs that collect at least one paper or paperboard category. |
Growth in Single-stream Collection: So-called single-stream recycling – where all fiber grades and all recyclable containers are commingled together in one compartment on the recycling collection vehicle – has been an emerging trend for several years. The prevalence of single-stream collection was first evaluated in the 2000 Survey, and again in the 2005 and 2007 Surveys. As shown in Figure ES-4, the growth in single-stream recycling is significant since 2005. In 2005, only 29 percent of the population with curbside recycling had access to a single-stream program. By 2007, that number has increased to 50 percent. Some of the largest communities that now provide single-stream collection, according to direct responses that were received, include Memphis, Tennessee; Santa Ana, California; Chesapeake, Virginia; and Vancouver, Washington. Several counties in Michigan and Florida reported changing to single-stream, too.
In the 2005 survey methodology, any respondent answering “Don’t Know” (“DK”) for the collection method was assumed to provide dual-stream collection. In the 2007 methodology, DK’s were excluded from the calculation. As such, the 2005 values are given twice – once counting DKs as “Dual-Stream” and once ignoring the DKs.
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Future Trends: The 2007 Survey contained several questions seeking information on plans to convert to single-stream collection. Of communities with dual-stream or curb-sort collection, five percent reported plans to convert to a single-stream system in the near future. This trend has been visible since the 2000 survey and should continue to be monitored in subsequent iterations of the survey.
Full results of the survey, as well as additional analysis, can be found in the main body of the report and accompanying appendices.
- By 2012, the paper industry hopes to recover 60 percent of the paper Americans consume.
- In 2008, total paper recovery averaged 340 pounds for each man, woman, and child in America.
- Newspapers are recycled into other products such as cereal boxes, egg cartons, pencil barrels, grocery bags, tissue paper, cellulose insulation materials, and many more diverse products.