Spokane-based companies Sonderen Packaging Inc. and Inland Empire Paper Co. have begun a recycling partnership in which the paper maker is buying the packaging company’s manufacturing waste, says Matt Sonderen, co-president and director of quality management for the family-owned business.

“In terms of paper recycling, this partnership with IEP is great because we’re reducing that carbon footprint,” Sonderen says.

Steve Agen, Sonderen Packaging’s general manager, says IEP is taking two 60,000-pound truckloads of brown paper scrap per week and two truckloads of white paper scrap bales per month for about 150 to 200 tons of total paper scrap per month.

IEP pays Sonderen Packaging a fair market value for the scrap paper, says Keva Sonderen, co-president and director of inside sales and marketing, who also is Matt Sonderen’s sister.

“It’s a meaningful partnership because it allows us to stay local with a Spokane company while also supporting our sustainability efforts,” she says.

Luke Fritz, transportation manager for IEP, says the company uses wood chips and different types of recycled paper to manufacture end products.

“We create everything from newsprint to envelope stock, bag stock, and packaging material,” says Fritz. “We’re one of the few mills left in North America and definitely in the Western United States that is able to produce so many different types of paper.”

Sonderen Packaging, founded in 1963 by the Sonderens’ grandparents Albin and Mary Sonderen, is based in a 130,000-square-foot facility that includes office, manufacturing, and warehouse space at 2906 N. Crestline.

The company has 120 employees and produces packaging materials for local and national brands. Its projected annual revenue is about $35 million, says Keva Sonderen.

Previously, Sonderen Packaging recycled its paper waste through Memphis, Tennessee,-based International Paper Co.

Agen says International Paper, which has its nearest offices in Moses Lake, Washington and Seattle, doesn’t own its trucks, and instead contracts with various carriers. Depending on the availability of trucks and where they come from, it could take anywhere from a few hours to a few days for a truck to arrive to take Sonderen Packaging’s waste, he says.

Sonderen says another advantage of the partnership is that IEP can take 99% of Sonderen Packaging’s paperboard scrap, whereas International Paper was recycling 90% to 95% of the scrap, leaving Sonderen to incinerate the rest.