Clearwater Paper Launches 100% Recycled Circa Paperboard Line

Clearwater Paper has launched Circa paperboard, a new line of coated recycled board for folding carton and carrier packaging applications in the United States, developed in collaboration with Greenpaper, a Monterrey, Mexico-based producer of 100 percent recycled fiber paperboard. The line adds a recycled option to Clearwater's existing premium solid bleached sulfate portfolio, aimed at converters and brand owners seeking sustainable packaging alternatives without compromising performance.

 

The Circa line includes two products: Circa Carton, a coated recycled folding carton board used for consumer packaging such as cartons for food, cosmetics and retail goods, and Circa Carrier, a high-strength carrier board engineered for demanding environments such as beverage multipacks and other applications requiring greater durability during handling and transport. Coated recycled board of this kind is typically used as a lower-cost, recycled-content alternative to virgin paperboard grades like solid bleached sulfate, giving converters a choice between performance tiers depending on a customer's budget and sustainability requirements.

 

Made entirely from recycled fiber, the paperboard is manufactured by Greenpaper using what the companies describe as a circular manufacturing model incorporating post-consumer materials into new packaging. Greenpaper produces the material on a recently reinvested recycled paper machine and operates more than 360,000 tons of annual production capacity across its recycled paperboard, containerboard and corrugated packaging lines, giving it substantial existing manufacturing scale to supply the new US product line without needing to build capacity from scratch.

 

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The collaboration combines Clearwater Paper's US market reach, customer support and supply chain infrastructure with Greenpaper's manufacturing capabilities, aimed at expanding access to coated recycled board specifically for independent converters in the United States. That distribution model matters for smaller and mid-sized converters, who often have more limited direct purchasing relationships with large paperboard producers and have historically had fewer recycled-content options readily available domestically compared to virgin paperboard grades.

 

Chief executive Arsen Kitch said the launch reinforced Clearwater's commitment to serving a broader range of customer needs by complementing its premium virgin paperboard offering with a recycled alternative. Greenpaper chief executive Bernardo Zambrano said the partnership reflected the company's long-term focus on recycled paperboard and sustainable packaging solutions as an independent, non-integrated producer, meaning a company that does not also own upstream pulp or forestry operations. Steve Bowden, Clearwater's senior vice president of commercial, said converters were increasingly seeking recycled options that perform consistently and remain readily available, positioning Circa's printability, durability and wet-strength performance as differentiators supported by Clearwater's established supply chain and service model.