The increased difficulty and costs associated with permitting, constructing and operating new landfills has caused many in the industry to focus their attention on reducing waste streams and extending the life of their current landfills. This, in turn, has generated new interest in concepts such as the “Circular Economy” and “Zero Waste” and might affect decision‐making in terms of managing solid residuals. Maintaining technical knowledge on current advances related to beneficial use of forest industry manufacturing residuals will help industry address marketplace expectations. In this context, NCASI’s objectives in this focus area are to identify and characterize the environmental benefits related to circular and/or enhanced use of manufacturing residuals from the forest sector.
Beneficial Use of Residuals
As part of the manufacturing process, the forest products industry generates several types of solid residuals such as boiler ash, causticizing residuals, woody biomass, secondary fiber rejects, and wastewater treatment solids. Due to their chemical and physical properties, these residuals have many beneficial uses as substitutes for raw materials in other manufacturing, geotechnical, agricultural, and silvicultural applications.
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Manufacturing residuals that are not beneficially used are typically classified as solid wastes and disposed of in a landfill.
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This model provides unit costs for managing residual streams as the cost per ton of disposed material in either a company or privately owned landfill and the cost per ton of material beneficially used.
Learn MoreThis fact sheet provides an overview of wood ash characteristics and the types of wood ash generated at forest products facilities, examining benefits and challenges of land application.
Learn MoreThe manufacturing process and pollution control practices at pulp and paper and wood products facilities generate several types of non-hazardous…
Learn MoreEPA's WAste Reduction Model (WARM) is used to examine the life cycle greenhouse gas impacts of different options for managing municipal solid waste. NCASI prepared an assessment of version 12 of the model in February 2014.
Learn MoreThe GuBu tool was designed to help users navigate through the vast literature on beneficial use of residuals.
Learn MoreThis webinar covered significant life cycle assessment-related activities and the state-specific guide on beneficial use project.
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