Paper Industry Gets Grant for Waste to Flooring St
Washington, DC, June 21--Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) has secured $250,000 for the Wisconsin Business Innovation Corporation for paper industry byproduct waste reduction research.
The funding, which is included in the FY 2006 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, will allow the Corporation to complete testing on a process to turn paper mill sludge into a composite flooring and roofing material.
"Wisconsin's paper industry annually produces hundreds of thousands of tons of paper mill sludge. This byproduct of the papermaking process represents a major disposal problem for the industry. The research that this grant will fund will help turn a waste byproduct into a marketable commodity," said Sen. Kohl.
Paper mill sludge is generated as a byproduct in the papermaking process. It is a combination of wood fiber and clay. The Wisconsin Business Innovation Corporation (WBIC) has worked with scientists at the University of Minnesota Natural Resources Institute to develop "value added" products from the material developed at City Forest mill in Ladysmith and Stora Enso Mills.
The development of these new products will serve as the basis of a new business helping eliminate an environmental disposal problem while contributing to the improved productivity of the paper industry.
The FY 2006 Interior Appropriations Bill will next be considered by the full Senate.
