Resolute Forest Products, a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including market pulp and tissue, contributes to the circular economy by minimizing the amount of waste generated by their operations and maximizing the value of resources in their care.
The company’s approach includes recycling, energy recovery and identifying beneficial-use alternatives, such as agricultural land spreading, to reduce waste sent to landfill.
On its website, Resolute highlighted some themes of its 2020 sustainability reporting, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards.
They diverted 74% of pulp, paper and tissue mill residues from landfill in 2020, and continued to advance their waste disposal programs by increasing the amount of waste they recycle or repurpose. Since 2018, these measures have allowed Resolute to reduce the amount of solid waste sent to landfill by 5%.
During 2020, the company also continued to repurpose waste for energy, recovering nearly 11% of the waste their manufacturing facilities produced for use as fuel, significantly reducing their reliance on fossil fuels and supporting their production of green energy.
According to Resolute, the beneficial use of products derived from waste is a key driver of the circular economy. These alternative uses include spreading certain waste – such as organic waste and sludge – on agricultural land, a process that fertilizes soil with nutrients. Pressed, dehydrated sludge – a by-product of the pulp and paper making process – is rich in nitrogen and phosphorous, which just happen to be two of the most important nutrients for growing plants.
All of the company’s Quebec pulp and paper operations utilize agricultural land spreading or energy recovery as a beneficial-use alternative. In the United States, their Menominee (Michigan) recycled pulp mill has been spreading its sludge for several years, while their Grenada (Mississippi) newsprint paper mill also diverts its bark boiler ash for land spreading.
Resolute stated that they will continue to optimize resources to add beneficial value and minimize waste in order to grow the circular economy and reduce the environmental impacts of our manufacturing processes.