America has the opportunity to significantly increase its recovery of recyclable materials, according to Pete Grogan, recycling market development manager for Weyerhaeuser Company, and nationally recognized authority on resource recycling.

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Grogan estimates that Americans dispose of $3 billion worth of recoverable paper each year. "Tossing paper into a landfill is not a sustainable practice," said Grogan. "It depletes resources, wastes energy, and represents a missed opportunity to participate in the multi-million dollar recycling economic sector.

"America Recycles Day on November 15 is a timely reminder that recycling is good for the environment and good for the economy," said Grogan. "We've made progress, but we need to do better. Today the U.S. is recovering 53 percent of our paper and Japan is recovering 70 percent of its paper, for example.

"Weyerhaeuser and other companies are doing a great job of paper recycling but we need even more paper from you the public. Demand for recovered paper internationally is increasing at 10 million tons per year," Grogan says. Recovered paper and packaging are used by paper mills to manufacture new products, including office paper, packaging and shipping containers.

"We're missing a great opportunity. We estimate that there are between 30 and 35 million tons of paper in American being disposed of each year," says Grogan. "Only 55 percent of Americans living in single-family homes have residential recycling services and only 50% of them use the service. We need to do better.

"With committed residents, governments and companies, it's easy to make recycling work," he said.

Grogan is delivering the keynote address at the Fall meeting of the Recycling Coalition of Utah on November 13. The group will celebrate America Recycles day with a tour and luncheon at "SF Recycled," a new art exhibition at the Salt Lake Art Center. The exhibition features art created from what would have been sent to landfills with the rest of San Francisco's trash. For more information: http://www.centralpt.com/pageview.aspx?id=17860

About Pete Grogan:

Grogan, who recently earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Recycling Coalition, began his recycling career in 1976 when he founded Eco-Cycle in Boulder, Colo., to provide residential recycling services. Later, as a consultant with R.W. Beck and Associates, he helped start municipal recycling programs throughout North America. He joined Weyerhaeuser in 1993.

About Weyerhaeuser:

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 2006, sales were $21.9 billion. It has offices or operations in 18 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate construction, development and related activities. Weyerhaeuser mills consume four million tons of recovered paper each year of the 53 million tons of paper recovered in the U.S. The company manages an additional three million tons of paper that are consumed by recycled paper mills world-wide. Additional information about Weyerhaeuser's businesses, products and practices is available at http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/.

  FACTS:
  Recycling is Critical for Environment and Business
  -- Recycling is good for the environment and good for the economy.
     Recycling saves energy, conserves natural resources and generates
     significant revenue and employment.
  -- We've made progress, but we need to do better. Today the U.S. is
     recovering 53 percent of our paper and Japan is recovering 70 percent
     of its paper. Demand for recovered paper continues to grow. This offers
     municipalities, businesses and all of us as citizens a great
     opportunity to participate in the multi-billion dollar recycling
     economic sector.
  -- Communities benefit from the significant economic and environmental
     value in recycling. With committed residents, governments and
     companies, it's easy to make recycling work.

  Proof points:
  -- Recycling is good for the environment
     - Making new paper and packaging with recycled material rather than
       virgin fiber conserves natural resources (trees) and reduces solid
       waste, air pollution and greenhouse gasses by half according to the
       Duke University Paper Task Force.
     - We maximize the use of the forest resource. Paper can typically make
       approximately eight recycle trips.
     - If Americans recycled all recyclable commodities, we would conserve
       four percent of the nation's current energy use. Source: Steel Can
       Recycling Institute
  -- Recycling is good for the economy. These facts prove recycling's
     viability (figures below are for all materials, not just paper) Source:
     National Recycling Coalition--R.W. Beck study
     - More than 56,000 public and private sector facilities.
     - More than a million direct jobs, 1.5 million indirect jobs.
     - $236 billion in gross annual sales.
     - $37 billion in annual payroll
     - Industry represents nearly 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP).

  -- Business focus: material value, resource value and environment.
     - Your morning paper and cereal box are made with recycled material.
       o Recovered paper and packaging are used by paper mills to
         remanufacture new products, including office paper, packaging and
         shipping containers.  This saves energy and reduces pollution in
         the remanufacturing process.
     - Weyerhaeuser recovers seven million tons per year. That's the
       equivalent of a line of tractor trailers from New York to California
       and back. The U.S. currently recovers 54 million tons per year.
       That's enough trucks to do a lap and a half around the equator.

  -- We've made good progress recycling in the U.S., but there's more work
     to be done.
     - Global demand for recovered paper is increasing by 10 million tons a
       year but U.S. supply is increasing at less than two million tons per
       year.
     - Today more than 8,500 cities provide residential collections to their
       residents, representing more 55% of the single-family homes in
       America. We're missing nearly half the country's material and
       throwing billions of dollars into the landfill. While more than 75
       percent of homes have curbside recycling service in such states as
       Minnesota, Washington and Oregon, some states have less than 30
       percent.
     - Many more municipalities should participate in the dynamic domestic
       and international recycling economy. Tossing paper into a landfill is
       not a sustainable practice. Americans dispose of $3 billion worth of
       recoverable paper each year. We're filling landfills with money! This
       depletes resources, wastes energy, and represents a missed
       opportunity to participate in the multi-billion dollar recycling
       economic sector.
     - Recycling is important for local governments and citizens because it
       reduces costs and improves the environment.
     - The benefit is billions of dollars and associated jobs in the
       processing and sale of recyclable commodities.
     - The paper industry provides hundreds of millions of dollars to local
       governments in payment for recovered paper, saving those governments
       and their taxpayers millions in disposal fees.
     - Weyerhaeuser has experience to share with states and municipalities
       to improve or establish their own recycling programs.


  Frank Mendizabal (253) 924-3357
  frank.mendizabal@weyerhaeuser.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040116/WYLOGO-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040116/WYLOGO-b
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com

SOURCE: Weyerhaeuser Company

CONTACT: Frank Mendizabal of Weyerhaeuser Company, +1-253-924-3357,
frank.mendizabal@weyerhaeuser.com

Web site: http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/
http://www.centralpt.com/pageview.aspx?id=17860