International Paper Twin Cities Recycling Plant keeps tons of waste out of landfills

International Paper
2425 Terminal Road
Roseville, MN 55113
651-635-1417
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Recycling is a way of life in Minnesota. The state ranks in the top three in the nation for cardboard, boxboard, and paper recycling.

The International Paper Twin Cities Recycling Plant in Roseville helps make Minnesota’s record-pace recycling possible. 

International Paper staff receive, sort, and bale tons of used boxboard, paper, and other materials from businesses. 

“The facility’s main focus is to create 2,000-pound bales of brown recycled fiber, handling approximately 7,000 tons a month,” said General Manager John Saladis.

Most of those bales are shipped via rail to the company’s Cedar Rapids, Iowa, facility, where they are recycled back into shipping material. The Iowa plant is one of the most efficient in the country, recycling more than one million tons of containerboard a year that otherwise would go into a landfill.

The Roseville plant is 200,000 square foot with about 20 employees and four commercial truck drivers operating two shifts daily. 

They receive paper products from International Paper’s six Twin Cities area plants and 200 regional commercial customers, including distribution centers, food manufacturers, commercial office buildings and local waste haulers. The Roseville plant receives recyclables from as far away as northern Minnesota and the Dakotas.

“IP is a large corporation in business to make money but strives to do the right thing for the environment, too,” he said. “Being part of the circular nature of our activities to intercept paper before it heads to a landfill is gratifying.”

Community partner

The Roseville facility offers numerous options for customers to best handle their recycling streams. Whether through 96-gallon rolling bins with lids and rolling carts or compactors and balers, Saladis wants to ensure recycling is routine. 

“Businesses should focus their time, energy and money on other priorities,” he said. “Recycling materials these businesses need every day makes sense, but so does an attitude of businesses and employees doing what is right for the community. We want to be part of that narrative.”

Recycling Awareness

Now is the time for community involvement as America Recycles Day occurs on November 15, said Saladis. 

“We do events with locations like the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, but we want to have an impact in Roseville too,“ he said. “We are seeking creative ways to promote recycling by partnering with Roseville organizations, businesses and schools for events like a Community Drop Off or Spring Cleanup.”