Washington paper mill to increase recycling capacity

The Port Townsend Paper Co., Port Townsend, Washington, has announced plans to increase its capacity for cardboard recycling. According to a news release in The Leader newspaper, Port Townsend, the paper mill currently recycled about 400 tons per day of old corrugated containers (OCC), and it is hoping to increase that capacity to about 750 tons per day. 

Kevin Scott, general manager at Portland Townsend Paper Co., told The Leader that some upgrades in technology and minor mechanical changes will allow the mill to increase its capacity for recovered fiber. 

In 2018, the mill recycled 294 million pounds of OCC, which is about 30 percent of the state’s used cardboard generation, The Leader reports. With the upgrades and increases in capacity, Scott told The Leader he hopes the mill will be able to increase the percentage of the state’s used cardboard it recycles to 45 percent.

Scott told The Leader that “when the recycle plant was built in 1996, it used a medium-consistency batch system.” Now, he says the mill is moving to a lower consistency system that offers a more continuous flow. Scott adds that this could help to improve the cleanliness and quality of the recovered fiber.