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FIBRE SUPPLY: A LOOK AT ALLIANCE’S RECYCLING PROJECT

MONTREAL, QC — Alliance Forest Products Inc. is well on its way to having its new recycling centre up and running in Coosa Pines, AL, before the first quarter of 2002. Once operating, the $113-millio…

MONTREAL, QC — Alliance Forest Products Inc. is well on its way to having its new recycling centre up and running in Coosa Pines, AL, before the first quarter of 2002. Once operating, the $113-million (US) facility will produce fibre that is 100% derived from recycled, or recovered, paper — a boost from its current 40%. It will support the newsprint operations at Coosa Pines.

In the often-volatile recovered paper market, Alliance expects that it will have enough old newspapers to feed its recycling operations. “In the southern US, there is a high availability of old newsprint,” said Georges Cabana, senior vice-president of human resources and public affairs. “The recovery rate approaches 70%,” which is well above the North American average of about 45%.

That accessibility to large amounts of recovered paper will let the recycling centre triple its daily production from 500 tons to 1500 tons, peaking at 1700 tons. One of the chief changes at Coosa Pines will be the shutdown of its current deinking facility, in favor of a new deinking flotation cell process, which will boost the yield from 70% to more than 85%. The result is that less old paper will be required to produce a ton of recycled pulp. The centre will also contain a warehouse capable of storing 14 000 tons of recycled paper — equivalent to 10 days of supply.