Wood and paper as alternatives to single-use plastics: supply chain considerations for North America

Governments are increasingly adopting policies to reduce plastic and packaging waste, with single-use plastics (SUPs) among the main targets. Where reuse is not adopted, wood- and paper-based products are often proposed as alternative materials. This study examines the potential supply chain and environmental implications of replacing selected SUPs with wood- and paper-based alternatives across Canada and the USA, where large single-use product markets coexist with major forest-products industries. We map relevant forest-product supply chains, assess resource availability and processing capacity, and examine indicative land-use and waste implications. For the items assessed, replacing SUPs with wood- and paper-based alternatives could substantially increase the total mass of material used and was estimated to require an additional 13.68 million m3 of wood across the USA and Canada. The associated harvested area is estimated at 84,202 hectares in 2030, equivalent to approximately a 1.6% increase in harvested area in Canada and 0.38% of planted forest area in the southern USA. Paper production capacity emerges as a key supply-chain constraint: meeting the additional demand would require an estimated 18.7 Mt increase in paper and paperboard production, approximately 25% above 2022 levels, or increased reliance on imports. Scenario analysis further shows that reuse and demand reduction can substantially reduce fibre demand. These findings demonstrate that the scale and configuration of behavioural and supply-chain responses are critical when designing material-specific SUP policies.