Cascades, Kingsey Falls, Que., Canada, this week announced that by the end of its 2013-2015 Sustainable Development Plan, the company gave a second life to 76% of the residual materials generated by its plants, exceeding its target of 71%. During this three-year period, a total of 1.4 million metric tons of residuals were recovered. 

"Cascades was founded with the aspiration to re-imagine commodity product manufacturing by prioritizing the use of recycled fiber. This business model allows us to divert millions of tons of used paper and cardboard from landfill each year. For us to have the smallest ecological footprint possible, we also chose to focus on giving a new lease of life to our own residual materials," explained Mario Plourde, the company's president and CEO. 

The bales of used paper bought by Cascades to serve as raw material can contain up to 10% of contaminants (plastic, metal, glass, etc.). The company must therefore manage a large amount of diverse residual materials. Other categories of residuals are also derived from Cascades' manufacturing process: mixed sludge and deinking sludge. These two by-products are now used for different purposes: animal bedding, liming material for land farming, fill layer in cardboard production, restoration of damaged sites, and capping material for sanitary landfill sites. 

During the past years, Cascades has made considerable efforts to find new uses for certain materials. Among other initiatives, the company introduced a waste-to-energy program at Greenpac in Niagara Falls, N.Y., USA, in 2015. A large part of the plant's residuals is sent to its neighbor, Covanta, a waste-to-energy company, which converts the residual materials into steam that Greenpac, in turn, uses to dry the paper it manufactures. Another portion of these residuals is recovered by Frontier Fibers LLC, which extracts its metal component and sends what's left over to waste-to-energy facilities. These partnerships allow the plant to divert from landfill 74% of the residuals it generates. This percentage will be even higher in 2016, after one full year in the circular economy. 

"We are proud to have found an opportunity to make use of these diverse materials, which have high calorific potential. Covanta proved to be highly adaptable throughout our relationship, and they played a big role in helping us achieve our goal," said Léon Marineau, VP, Environment.

A fact worth mentioning: two Cascades plants, Cascades Sonoco in Birmingham, Ala., USA, and Norampac in Etobicoke, Ont., Canada, have achieved zero landfill status thanks to a partnership with nearby cogeneration power production facilities. By staying on the lookout for innovative solutions, Cascades' teams have enabled the company to meet, and even exceed, the results it hoped for.