Canadian paper and paperboard recycling firm Kruger has received C$13.8m (£8.1m) in funding from the Government of Canada for recycled paper project in Brompton, Quebec.
Image: Kruger intends to produce biodegradable, 100% recycled paper for food packaging. Photo: Image by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay.
Administered through the Strategic Innovation Fund, the funding will support Kruger’s investment of over C$27.5m (£16.1m).
The firm is investing at its specialty papers mill in Brompton, Quebec, to implement a facility which can produce first-of-its-kind, biodegradable, 100% recycled paper approved for direct food contact for use by restaurants.
As part of wider investment programme, the firm is also planning to install a new system to dry low-quality biomass at its Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Mill to produce clean energy and limit the use of fossil fuels.
The investment from the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada is expected to help develop innovative pulp and paper products and while creating 743 jobs in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Brompton, Quebec.
Additionally, the investment is expected to generate new opportunities, reduce waste sent to landfills, facilitate access to new markets, and reduce water use by 50%.
Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains said: “Our government’s investment in Kruger is helping to advance greener production that will reduce the industry’s carbon footprint and create good middle-class jobs in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Thanks to this project, we will transform how we harness the bio-economy and use clean resources to make innovative pulp and paper products.”
The projects are expected to help Kruger avoid burning 48,000 barrels of oil each year and reduce 25,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
Kruger publication papers & specialty papers operations vice-president Stéphane Lamoureux said: “Thanks to the support of the Government of Canada through the Strategic Innovation Fund, these investments will have a positive, long-term impact in terms of providing opportunities for future development in growing markets, consolidating hundreds of existing jobs while creating new ones, and reducing our carbon footprint very significantly.”
The company is engaged in transforming renewable wood resources into sustainable products, such as newsprint and specialty paper for food and other packaging.