To Pratt Industries, "Harvesting the Urban Forest" means looking at what others might throw away and finding a way to give it new life. A key differentiator for our team is the ability to process mixed paper—including everything from newspapers and magazines to mail—and turn it into high-quality, 100% recycled packaging.
This process is designed to enhance the green bottom line for our partners by creating a true circular economy:
- Collection: We recover old corrugated containers and mixed paper from local businesses, municipalities and residences.
- Precision Sorting: At our Material Recovery Facilities, we use automated screens and optical sorters to separate materials with precision, ensuring that fiber is ready for the next stage.
- Local Manufacturing: That fiber is sent directly to one of our six 100% recycled paper mills to become the raw material for new paper and eventually boxes, bags and displays produced at one of our facilities across the U.S.
Every day, this process diverts more than 16,500 cubic yards of waste from landfills. To put that into perspective, that is more than 1,000 dump trucks of waste diverted every single day. By keeping these materials in a "closed loop," we help our partners reach their sustainability goals while providing a reliable, local source for their packaging.