Legal Proceedings - Additional Information (Detail)	2 Months Ended
Oct. 31, 2010
Legal Proceedings [Line Items]
Number of lawsuits filed by the plaintiffs	5
Number of other U.S. and Canadian containerboard producers	PCA and eight other U.S. and Canadian containerboard producers were named as defendants

The total number of new claims filed pertaining to a loss contingency during the period.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 5

-Paragraph 9, 10, 11, 12

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyNewClaimsFiledNumber
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration