PORTLAND, Maine — The coronavirus outbreak is highlighting the importance of recycling, as many paper products are manufactured from recycled materials.

"A lot of these companies that make paper products from recycled paper, many of the box mills that we sell our paper to, they use 100% recycled paper to make their boxes. So, they are a critical component to the recycling infrastructure," said EcoMaine CEO Kevin Roche.

The need for recycled paper comes amid a national trend where some cities and towns have loosened their recycling options and have even suspended it all together.

"We don't want to see this trend toward putting the recyclables into the trash because all that does is it requires us to landfill more of these resources that we need to recycle into new packaging," Roche said.

Roche said the coronavirus crisis has changed the way business is done.

"Recently, the paper mills have started to call us. We usually call them to get orders," Roche said.