This October is the 20th anniversary of National Waste Reduction Week, a time used to celebrate the collective efforts of Canadians to protect the environment and work towards a sustainable future. We invite you to join us as we reflect on just a few of the ways our companies have strived to operate on a reduce, reuse, and recycle mentality. 

Biomass Ash to Sustainable Farming

Did you know that the biomass ash produced by the Irving Pulp & Paper mill is a registered agricultural product, under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulations?

Since 2004, JDI has been composting 100% of organic residuals from this site, creating recycled materials which are then used by farmers on their fields. By using Lime and Ash residuals, farmers have been able to save millions of dollars!

“What was once considered waste destined for the landfills is now reused as a beneficial supplement for agricultural soil enhancement." said Renée Morais, JDI Environmental Coordinator.

The ash is the by-product of green energy biomass boilers at three New Brunswick JDI locations: Irving Pulp & Paper in Saint John, and our sawmills - Grand Lake Timber in Chipman and Scierie Grande Rivière in Saint Leonard.

More than 100,000 tonnes have been diverted from landfills and recycled in soil for beneficial use since the program began.

Zeroing in on Waste Reduction

Since opening its doors in 2007, the Irving Wallboard manufacturing facility has utilized state-of-the-art technologies to operate on a Zero Waste Platform. The plant was specifically designed to consume any process waste generated and reintegrate it into the production process, including water. During its 14 years of operations, there has been zero release of wastewater.

In addition, Irving Wallboard is able to recycle construction waste or board waste from customers, diverting these materials away from landfills.  

$28.8 Million Environmental Upgrade

In 2018 Lake Utopia Paper celebrated the completion of a $28.8 Million environmental upgrade – a new Environmental Treatment Facility.

“This is a brand-new state of the art facility that will serve Lake Utopia Paper for the long term,” said Rick Wasson, Manager of Technical Operations. “It will provide stability to the environmental system to ensure we are always meeting and extending our compliance obligations.” 

This investment allows the mill to extract renewable biogas from organic materials found in wastewater and convert it into steam, which in turn is used to produce electricity for the mill. A great example of reducing, reusing, and recycling!