ReMA Member International Paper Recognizes 10-Year Partnership with Wreaths Across America

You may have heard of Wreaths Across America, a nonprofit organization that distributes wreaths for placement on veterans’ graves in military cemeteries. Each December, the organization coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies on National Wreaths Across America Day, where volunteers and sponsors lay wreaths at more than 2,000 locations across the U.S. and around the world to honor veterans. The largest singular wreath-laying event of the day is held at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

But you may not have known that the annual event runs in part on recycled materials—specifically the boxes for the wreaths.

ReMA member International Paper (IP) makes the boxes used to transport the wreaths, illustrating the powerful role of recycled materials in supporting this important tradition. IP (International Paper) manufactures these boxes at its Auburn, Maine plant, and each year produces nearly 350,000 boxes for the program.

In addition to supplying the boxes, IP also manages the box recycling at Arlington National Cemetery and two national cemeteries in New York City, coordinating the diversion of the wreaths from landfill to waste-to-energy.

In 2024, IP worked with Wreaths Across America to redesign the wreath boxes to improve performance and recyclability, changing the design from a square to a hexagon so they would be easier to stack, flatten, and recycle. IP organized the recovery of the boxes from Arlington to transport 40 tons of OCC (Old Corrugated Cardboard) to IP’s Richmond Recycling operation. This model has become the blueprint for Wreaths Across America to expand box recycling nationally. 

The 2025 recycling partnership was a joint effort between International Paper, 4G Recycling, and Cascade. IP boxes left the Auburn, Maine plant and traveled to Worcester Wreath Co in Maine—each box was assembled and filled with 10 wreaths and stacked on trucks. Then over 70 semi-trailers drove in a caravan to Arlington during the week of December 8 to deliver over 400,000 wreaths to be laid by volunteers on Saturday, December 13.

Once the 40,000 wreath boxes were empty, they were stacked, banded, and transported on 10 trailers by Cascade to IP Recycling in Richmond for processing and then back to Cascade to turn the OCC into rolls of paper.

“This partnership is more than business—it’s about purpose,” said Brian Lebel, Packaging Consultant at International Paper. “International Paper is proud to stand with Wreaths Across America in honoring our veterans, while ensuring that every act of remembrance is supported by a commitment to sustainability for future generations.”

Photos Courtesy of International Paper.