Discontinued Operations - Other Discontinued Operations Information (Details) - Matane Plant - Discontinued Operations, Disposed of by Sale - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Depreciation and amortization	$ 1,590	$ 2,459	$ 317
Capital expenditures	$ 2,956	$ 3,662	$ 87

Amount of capital expenditure attributable to discontinued operations.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 205
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 5B
-Subparagraph (c)(2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109222650&loc=SL51721673-107760

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_CapitalExpenditureDiscontinuedOperations
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of deprecation and amortization expense attributable to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets of discontinued operations.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118932676&loc=d3e3602-108585

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 205
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 5B
-Subparagraph (c)(2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109222650&loc=SL51721673-107760

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DepreciationAndAmortizationDiscontinuedOperations
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeStatementBalanceSheetAndAdditionalDisclosuresByDisposalGroupsIncludingDiscontinuedOperationsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeStatementBalanceSheetAndAdditionalDisclosuresByDisposalGroupsIncludingDiscontinuedOperationsAxis=ryam_MatanePlantMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DisposalGroupClassificationAxis=us-gaap_DiscontinuedOperationsDisposedOfBySaleMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: