Will Pulp and Paper Mills be Open to New Packaging Materials?
According to a presentation Mid America Paper Recycling attended at the February 2023 Southeast Recycling Conference (SERC), some pulp and paper mills or mill companies are more open to new packaging types than others. Some obtain new pulpers and upgraded cleaning and screening systems to help them handle an increase in “strong fibers,” or packaging that takes more time to break down.
So said Susan Cornish, President of sustainable packaging research consulting firm Insight + Action, during her presentation at SERC. One strategy to make mixed paper more palatable is to mix it in loads of Old Corrugated Containers (OCC) to result in a “hard pack” mix, which causes new package materials such as foodservice substrates to blend in better.
“The U.S. has many batch pulpers with old-style detrashing that could be upgraded to
continuous systems,” Cornish says. “Other mills say absolutely nothing will change their perceptions. And others point out that while packaging with coatings can be handled to a certain degree, doing so increases the cost, and can slow production.”
Most new mill projects in the U.S. will have stock prep systems that can handle mixed paper. The systems are capable of handling a wide range of fiber-based packaging materials. And there are opportunities for yield improvement and energy savings, Cornish adds. More sophisticated quality measurement systems for recovered paper are being developed.
Other mills, like Metsä Fibre’s Kemi bioproducts mill, for example, set for start-up in late 2023 in Kemi, Finland, will be ready for the future. Metsä Group’s pulp mill will make resource-wise make use of wood, raw materials, and side streams of production. No fossil fuels will be needed in production, the company reports. Metsä Fibre will sell renewable energy in the form of electricity, wood-based fuels, and heat from the mill to external customers.
Mid America Paper Recycling learned a great deal at the SERC presentations. Thanks to Susan Cornish for information on her presentation. For more from Susan Cornish and Insight + Action, visit insightplusaction.net.
Mid America Paper Recycling helps businesses review their current recycling process and suggests new, more efficient ways to recycle fiber and paper waste materials used to produce new packaging and other products. Let us help you with your recycling needs. Visit
www.midamericapaper.com, contact Mid America Paper Recycling at
773-890-5454, or request a free, quick, Waste Audit Survey at
https://bit.ly/2OI2o0Z.
