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NEW YORK State is home to the largest number of paper mills (54) in the United States. Most of the mills are relatively small, using older equipment, placing them at a competitive disadvantage. To lower costs and meet customer demand, New York's paper companies are aggressively boosting their use of postconsumer fiber. Recycling capacity has grown by nearly 230,000 tons/year since 1992 -- a 26 percent rise -- while virgin pulp processing capacity is declining. Thirty of the 54 mills now utilize postconsumer feedstock, with further expansions planned.
The use of post-consumer fiber increases the generation of sludge at mills, because of the unusable short fiber residuals created by scrap paper pulping. Figures available from 24 of 30 New York mills using recycled fibers show that 330,000 wet tons are generated annually, with variable solids content. Dry tons are estimated at 144,000/year.
Since 1987, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has enforced less stringent regulations for on-site paper mill monofills and also allowed the sludge to be used as daily cover at municipal solid waste landfills. Sending sludge to an off-site landfill for disposal or use as daily cover are the dominant methods of management. The average cost of landfilling is estimated at $239/dry ton (about $34.5 million total). For those mills that send sludge far use as daily cover, costs range from $40 to $154/dry ton.
SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVES
Many mills find the cost of constructing and operating an on-site landfill to be too expensive. Those plants that send their sludge for use as daily cover are sometimes forced to haul longer distances as local disposal facilities close. As a result, most mills in the state are searching for more cost-effective beneficial use alternatives to landfill disposal. The options being studied include soil substitutes, hydromulch, absorbent products, precast construction materials (e.g. wall and door panels, baseboards, bricks and shingles) animal bedding and fuels. One mill is composting some of its sludge along with its bark wastes. Several mills are utilizing fiber from sludges generated by other mills. For example, sludge from a fine grade mill may be usable as filler material in a paperboard mill. These "fiber transfers" are becoming increasingly popular, especially with today's high costs for both virgin and recycled fibers....