The Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority (Authority) is pleased to announce that Twin Rivers Paper Company (Twin Rivers Paper), located in Little Falls, NY has received the Authority’s RecycleOne Business Certification.
The RecycleOne Business Certification requires an on-site review from Authority staff to verify that specific solid waste management, recycling and energy reduction criteria have been achieved. If the criteria have been achieved, the Authority will issue the facility or business an official RecycleOne Business Certification.
This certification is free and available to all businesses located in Oneida and Herkimer counties. Certified businesses will receive a framed certificate to display, will be featured on the Authority’s website and will be eligible to win the Authority’s annual Recycling Champion Award.
Meet the Business: Twin Rivers Paper Company
Twin Rivers Paper expanded to the Central New York region in 2016 when it acquired Burrows Paper Corporation, which included three paper mills in New York. In addition to these locations, Twin Rivers Paper also has operations in Lyons Falls, New York; Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Madawaska, Maine; and New Brunswick, Canada. The Twin Rivers Paper locations in Little Falls are on Main Street and Mill Street and have over 100 employees combined.
Twin Rivers Paper has the flexibility to produce a wide range of specialty papers for food packaging, medical and technical markets. Applications include grease-resistant food packaging paper for fast food and quick service restaurants, coffee filtration papers, battery pasting papers, hydroentanglement for fiber-based wipes, and exam table paper. Twin Rivers’ Little Falls locations produce nearly 40,000 tons of these specialty papers per year, providing flexible and customizable service to customers.
Twin Rivers’ Waste Reduction Efforts
Hazardous Waste – Batteries, lightbulbs and other hazardous wastes that Twin Rivers Paper generates are all properly disposed of through the appropriate channels. Twin Rivers Paper began the process of switching from fluorescent light bulbs to LED lightbulbs in 2016. Before this switch, the two mills in Little Falls would recycle approximately 800 fluorescent bulbs in one year. Since the switch in 2016, less than 75 fluorescent bulbs are generated as waste per year and less than 20 LED bulbs have been replaced overall. This switch has resulted in greater energy efficiency and a decreased need for frequent lightbulb collection and disposal.
Water Usage – Water from the Mohawk River is treated and used for Twin Rivers’ paper production. As the water is collected, sediment in the water settles to the bottom of the holding tanks, making it necessary for the tanks to be periodically cleaned and emptied. Twin Rivers Paper filed a Beneficial Use Determination with the NYSDEC for the land application of the nutrient-rich sediment that is cleaned out of the water holding tanks. A local farmer was able to take advantage of this determination, and has benefitted greatly from the partnership in the form of high crop yields. Twin Rivers Paper benefits from this partnership as well because there is no longer a need to take the 720,000 pounds (30 truckloads) of sediment to landfill each time the tanks are cleaned; saving time, energy and resources.
Waste Paper Reprocessing – “Waste Paper” from production that does not make it into a final roll of paper is set aside, repulped and reprocessed into new rolls of paper, minimizing the amount of waste paper that is disposed of. Buyers that work with Twin Rivers Paper can also send back trimmings from the stamping processes to be repulped and reprocessed as well.
Manufacturing Materials Reuse – Plastic totes containing chemicals for water treatment (pH balance, sanitization) and the pulp mixing process are sent back to the distributor to be refilled and reused. Pallets are repurposed by another local business to make custom sized pallets for shipping their orders. Large felt pads that are used in the paper drying process must be replaced regularly, and are reused by local contractors as driveway underlayment.
Recycling – Office shredding is collected for recycling. Cardboard cores that rolls of paper are placed on are collected for recycling. Wires from bales are compressed and are recycled as scrap metal.
“Due to these outstanding efforts in waste reduction, the Authority has determined that Twin Rivers Paper Company is more than deserving of a RecycleOne Business Certification,” says Eileen Brinck, Authority Recycling Coordinator. “This business is an excellent demonstration of the attempt to reuse materials and give them a new life before they are disposed of,” she continued.
“Twin Rivers Paper is honored to be part of the RecycleOne Business program,” stated Twin Rivers Environmental Supervisor Rick Petrie. “The RecycleOne Certification reflects our company’s steadfast environmental commitment and the daily focus of our team members on recycling and reducing waste. We’re pleased to know that our efforts benefit Twin Rivers, our customers and our local community.”
For more information on the Authority’s RecycleOne Business Certification Program or to get your business certified, please contact Eileen Brinck, Recycling Coordinator, at 315-733-1224 ext. 1400 or eileenb@ohswa.org. You can also visit our website www.ohswa.org/business for more information.