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BAP announces “world’s first” bamboo bio-refinery and paper mill

Apr. 20, 2018 – BAP Industries of Guatemala will construct and operate what it says is the world’s first bamboo bio-refinery and associated paper mill, located in Nicaragua close to the bamboo raw resource. The facility, it says, will have the capacity to process up to 250,000 metric tonnes of bamboo annually into a range of 100 per cent bamboo toilet, tissue and cleaning papers.

As part of a strategic alliance with Advance Pulp and Paper Machinery (AP&P) of British Columbia, BAP has signed a 10-year exclusive Bamboo Purchase Agreement with EcoPlanet Bamboo Group for 100 per cent of the off-take from its Nicaraguan bamboo plantations.

EcoPlanet Bamboo develops bamboo plantations as an alternative resource for wood and fibre industries globally. The company owns and operates more than 4,000 hectares of bamboo plantations in Nicaragua and South Africa.

“The Bamboo Purchase Agreement with EcoPlanet, and the announcement of a $60M Nicaraguan facility with BAP is just the first step of a multi-faceted strategic alliance aimed at turning the toilet paper industry from a negative global footprint into something positive,” said Mark Nash, CEO of AP&P Machinery.

BAP and AP&P say the pulping technology is zero waste, closed loop, chlorine free, and utilizes only 30 per cent of the energy and water of a traditional wood chip pulp mill.

“The Bamboo Purchase Agreement with BAP and larger partnership into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Nicaragua fulfills a major goal we set out to achieve seven years ago. Most importantly it will provide hundreds of much needed jobs in Nicaragua, reward all those who have contributed towards achieving our triple bottom line vision, and provide the final piece in the building of a global bamboo resource base as a viable and market driven solution to deforestation,” said EcoPlanet CEO Troy Wiseman.