Businesses Held for Sale Divestitures and Impairments - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended						9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Other Divestitures And Impairments	Sep. 30, 2012 Other Divestitures And Impairments	Jan. 04, 2011 Kapstone	Mar. 31, 2011 Brazilian Coated Papers	Mar. 31, 2012 Shorewood Divestiture	Jun. 30, 2012 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments	Sep. 30, 2011 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments	Jun. 30, 2011 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments	Mar. 31, 2011 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments	Sep. 30, 2012 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments	Sep. 30, 2011 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments	Dec. 31, 2011 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments	Sep. 30, 2012 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments Others	Jun. 30, 2012 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments Others	Mar. 31, 2011 Inverurie Mill, Scotland Other Divestitures And Impairments	Sep. 30, 2012 Temple-Inland Building Products Business	Sep. 30, 2012 Containerboard Mills Other Divestitures And Impairments	Jun. 30, 2012 Containerboard Mills Other Divestitures And Impairments	Sep. 30, 2012 Containerboard Mills Other Divestitures And Impairments	Jun. 30, 2012 Hueneme Mill Other Divestitures And Impairments	Sep. 30, 2012 Hueneme Mill Other Divestitures And Impairments
Businesses Held for Sale, Divestitures and Impairments [Line Items]
Assets of businesses held for sale		$ 613		$ 196												$ 196				$ 613
Liabilities of businesses held for sale		63		43												43				63
Cash received under earnout provision, before taxes							50
Cash received under earnout provision, after taxes							30
Reversal of tax contingency reserves	5	0	(5)					15
Interest income on reversal of tax contingency reserve								6
Interest income on reversal of tax contingency reserve, after taxes								4
Gain (loss) on sale of business, before tax					6	5			7	(6)				1			1	(1)			(19)	(9)	(28)
Gain (loss) on sale of business, after tax									6	(4)							1	(1)			(49)	(5)
Gain related to impairment charge passed to minority shareholder											8				8
Write down of long-lived assets, estimated fair value, before taxes											82	129			82				8					62	62
Tax benefit											222
Write down of long-lived assets, estimated fair value, after taxes												$ 104	$ (148)						$ 8					$ 38