Georgia-Pacific has announced that its Savannah River mill in Rincon, Georgia, is now accepting polyethylene (PE)-coated paper cups in its mixed paper stock for recycling.
It becomes the company’s third facility to do so, joining its mills in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Muskogee, Oklahoma.
By accepting PE-coated cups, Georgia-Pacific is enabling the reuse of fibers from these items—which were previously difficult to recycle—into products such as tissues, paper towels, and napkins. This effort is part of the company’s broader sustainability strategy to reduce resource consumption and promote circular solutions.
The expansion was made possible through collaborations with the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) and the NextGen Consortium, managed by Closed Loop Partners' Center for the Circular Economy. John Mulcahy, vice president of stewardship at Georgia-Pacific, emphasized that this move addresses the growing waste from single-use paper cups and supports the company’s environmental goals.
Historically, the PE coating and food residue made recycling paper cups challenging. However, Georgia-Pacific’s successful re-pulping trials have demonstrated that valuable fibers can be recovered while effectively screening out PE coatings.
Kate Daly, managing partner at Closed Loop Partners, praised Georgia-Pacific’s leadership, noting that the move strengthens the recycling infrastructure for foodservice packaging and encourages broader industry adoption.
Georgia-Pacific is also testing next-generation recyclable and compostable cups at its mills and is working with FPI to expand curbside recycling programs that accept PE-coated cups.
"We’re proud to work with Georgia-Pacific to expand the recovery of poly-coated paper cups," said Natha Dempsey, president of FPI.
About Georgia-Pacific:
Georgia-Pacific is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tissue, pulp, packaging, building products, and related chemicals. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific operates nearly 150 facilities and employs tens of thousands of people worldwide, delivering essential products that improve everyday life.
