Paper industry waste set to bind with road construction

This is the aim of researchers at the University of British Colombia (UBC) Okanagan in Canada, who are particularly focussed on wood-based pulp mill fly ash (PFA), which is a non-hazardous commercial waste product.

Recycled PPE could make roads to tackle waste

The North American pulp and paper industry is said to generate over one million tons of ash annually by burning wood in power boiler units for energy production. When sent to a landfill, the producer pays between $25 to $50 per ton, so mills are looking for alternative usages of these by-products.

“Anytime we can redirect waste to a sustainable alternative, we are heading in the right direction,” said Dr Sumi Siddiqua, associate professor at UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering and leader of the Advanced Geomaterials Testing Lab, where researchers find different reuse options for industry by-products.