Beneficial Use of OCC and Poly Rejects, 2000 Environmental Conference Proceedings

- W. E. Thacker -- A common management method for secondary fiber rejects is disposal in landfills, but research and practice with alternatives are on the rise. This paper documents experience with the beneficial use of rejects, which appears to be limited essentially to those generated in the processing of old corrugated containers (OCC) or polyethylene-coated papers (poly). The different uses tend to exploit the fiber and/or plastic content. The most frequently applied alternative for OCC rejects is combustion, particularly in mill power boilers. Other ongoing uses include various land-based applications (e.g., compost feedstock, animal bedding, and hydromulch ingredient) and fiber recovery for paperboard manufacture of molded products such as pallets. For poly rejects the predominant beneficial uses are in wood-plastic composite lumber and in fuel pellets. Fiber also is recovered and sold as pulp. Combustion as-is in mill boilers or in municipal and commercial energy facilities is a possible application that has been employed in the past.