Variable Interest Entities (Details Textual) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended					6 Months Ended						3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2012	Apr. 30, 2011	Apr. 30, 2012	Apr. 30, 2011	Oct. 31, 2011	May 23, 2005 acre	Mar. 28, 2005 acre	Apr. 30, 2012 Asset Company [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 Trading Company [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 STA Timber [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 STA Timber [Member]	Oct. 31, 2011 STA Timber [Member]	May 31, 2005 STA Timber [Member] Monetization Notes [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 Flexible Products JV [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 Flexible Products JV [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 Flexible Products JV [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 Flexible Products JV [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes													5.20%
Maturity date													Aug. 05, 2020
Extended date	Nov. 05, 2020		Nov. 05, 2020
Debt instrument, principal outstanding										$ 43.3		$ 43.3	$ 43.3
Interest Expense	24.1	18.6	47.8	35.4						1.1	1.1
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in Variable Interest Entity								51.00%	49.00%
Noncontrolling Interest [Line Items]
Noncontrolling interests attributable to the flexible packaging JV														2.4	0.2	3.8	1.9
Variable Interest Entities (Textual) [Abstract]
Approximate acres of timberland to be sold under agreement with Plum Creek Timberland							56,000
Acres of timberland sold under the agreement						35,000
Approximate value of sale agreement with Plum Creek Timberland							90
Value of timberland sold under the agreement						51.0
Purchase notes payable						50.9
Maximum amount of guarantee on purchase notes						52.3
Restricted bank financial instruments under buyer SPE	50.9		50.9		50.9
Interest income of Buyer SPE			1.2	1.2
Committed capital contribution			150
Commitment to obtain third party financing			upto $150 million
Variable Interest Entities Outstanding Advances	13.2		13.2
Interest bearing short term borrowing	$ 7.5		$ 7.5