Competitive Implications of Environmental Regulation in the Paper De-Inking Industry

摘要

Since 1990, the pulp and paper industry made a significant transition toward the use of recovered fiber, or waste-paper, and by 1995, one-third of North American mills had some recycling capacity, for a broad range of products. World markets, particularly in Asia, were also growing at a rate roughly twice those of virgin fiber. The use of recovered fiber represented a key shift in technology and strategy for the pulp and paper industry; not only did it demand specific changes in process technology, but it required a shift in focus for companies whose strategic expertise had been in forest management and virgin fiber. Recovered fiber use demanded knowledge of a rapidly changing supply infrastructure and a fiber supply of highly variable quality and price.