Maine paper mill seeks local donations of cardboard, an example of supply-chain woes

Here's how dire supply-chain shortages are getting for some manufacturers: A paper mill in Old Town, Maine, says raw materials are so expensive that it's asking locals to donate used cardboard and other paper products, Robbie Feinberg reports for Maine Public Radio.

ND Paper makes mostly pulp and tissue paper, and has been in business for more than 150 years. But demand for old corrugated cardboard has skyrocketed because more people are shopping online. "You think about how many Amazon delivery boxes you get on a daily or weekly basis, you think about the conversion — transformation away from, you know, traditional plastic packaging at your local grocery store to paper bags," mill spokesman Brennan Burks told Feinberg.

So the mill set up a bin nearby and is asking residents from four nearby towns to donate their used cardboard. It's a win/win situation, the mill says. "Besides the financial advantage for the company, the mill is also touting the environmental benefits, too. Less than 40 percent of Maine's municipal waste was recycled in 2019. The mill hopes that by collecting pizza and cereal boxes, fewer will end up in the dump," Feinberg reports.

Online retail sales in the U.S. are expected to have hit about $920 billion in 2021, up from $792 billion in 2020, and are predicted to outstrip other retail sales growth in the next few years, Shelley Kohan reports for Forbes. That's a lot of boxes.