PEDIATRICS Vol. 84 No. 1 July 1989, pp. A34
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MARKET FOR RECYCLED NEWSPAPERS IN UNITED STATES COLLAPSES, ADDING TO SOLID WASTE WOES

R. J. M. Jr MD

The bottom has fallen out of the market for recycled newspapers, exacerbating the nation's already critical garbage problems.

The market's collapse stems from a sudden deluge of old newspapers, the result of new recycling programs by several Eastern states. In response, Korean and other foreign and domestic paper companies have greatly lowered the price they are willing to pay for old papers.

The result: Municipalities that just two or three months ago were receiving as much as $25 a ton for their newspapers from brokers now are having to pay these brokers $5 to $25 a ton just to haul the old papers away. . .

Worse is yet to come, according to the American Paper Institute, the industry's trade group. It predicts that so much old paper will soon flood the market that some of it may have to be dumped in landfills. . .

To be sure, nobody predicts the end of recycling because, especially on the East Coast, landfills are full, and many new incinerator projects are stalled by citizen's groups worried about possible adverse health effects. . .

Michael Koplik, president of Percy H. Koplik & Sons, Inc., which buys old newspaper for paper companies, says the current depression in the market could last a year or longer. But he also calls the downturn an opportunity, in that he expects paper companies to commit to building more plants that use recycled paper.

Joseph Salomondo, editor of Recycling Times, also foresees new uses for recycled newsprint—in particular, as housing insulation and as animal bedding. . .