Two major manufacturers of recycled paper products are closing locations in Georgia and Texas, the companies announced earlier this month, though it’s uncertain whether the facilities in question are using recycled fiber.
Georgia-Pacific’s Cedar Springs, Georgia, containerboard mill is expected to close later this year due to market conditions, according to a press release.
International Paper, meanwhile, will be closing a box plant and a sheet paper plant in Edinburg, Texas, the company said, though it didn’t specify when. It plans to shift production to nearby facilities in McAllen, Texas, and Reynosa, Mexico, and to convert the sheet paper plant into a warehouse.
Georgia-Pacific’s containerboard mill used recycled materials including OCC for its products, according to an environmental impact permit from 2019. Requests to the company to confirm whether the mill still uses recycled materials weren’t returned.
“Ultimately, we do not believe that the mill can competitively serve our customers in the long term,” the company wrote in the release. “This decision has nothing to do with the quality of work of Georgia-Pacific’s employees at the Cedar Springs mill.”
The mill closure will eliminate 535 jobs, with most jobs ending by August. In the announcement, the company promised to help workers through the transition and to offer other positions within Georgia-Pacific. The Cedar Springs mill produces 800,000 tons of linerboard and 200,000 tons of medium per year, according to a report by Investing.com.
A representative for International Paper said most International Paper mills use recycled materials but didn’t specify whether the Edinburg facilities do. The closures are expected to end 132 jobs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice from the company. The company said it would offer some laid-off employees positions at the McAllen plant.
“The decision to cease operations at our two Edinburg facilities while investing in McAllen and Reynosa allows us to focus our efforts, provide excellent customer experiences and maintain a competitive cost structure that we believe positions us for profitable growth,” said Executive Vice President and President of North American Packaging Tom Hamic.
The company promised to invest in the remaining mills in the Rio Grande Valley, including transferring operations at the Reynosa mill to a more capable facility under construction. These closures are the latest in a series of mill closures and reconfigurations by International Paper in recent years. The company also closed a containerboard mill in Orange, Texas, in 2023.
