
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, November 30, 1993                   TAG: 9311300056
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LON WAGNER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

WASTE WATER TO FUEL AT GEORGIA-PACIFIC

Instead of burying 10,000 tons of waste-water sludge each year, Georgia-Pacific Corp., with the help of a Grand Rapids, Mich., recycler, will use the wet waste for energy.

Georgia-Pacific, operator of a 100-year-old pulp and paper mill at Big Island, and 4-year-old Montcalm Corp. made official Monday their symbiotic relationship.

Montcalm makes a product called Enviro-Fuel, pellets made by combining two previously unusable wastes - nonrecyclable paper and waste-water sludge. Georgia-Pacific will use the pellets as fuel for its coal-fired furnaces at the paper mill.

Montcalm's decision to move to the Little Otter Business Park on U.S. 221 will bring 17 to 20 jobs to Bedford County. Philip K. David, director of corporate development for Montcalm, said it would hire a plant manager and at least 15 semi-skilled workers. He said he was uncertain of the pay scale.

But to Georgia-Pacific, the benefit of Montcalm's recycling process is long-term. The industrial landfill it began using last month has an estimated lifespan of 32 years. "This should help extend that considerably," said Garry Griffith, an environmental engineer with Georgia-Pacific.

Montcalm plans to be operating by March. David said the recycler could expand quickly if it finds other customers for the fuel pellets.

by CNB