Improved Safety and Value for Paper Pulp Waste Associated with Bottle Cleaning

Ever Green recycling is a non-profit dedicated to providing green solutions to waste management in Newfoundland and Labrador and providing employment to people recovering from mental illness. Paper recycling is a major business for Ever Green. Ever Green seeks out opportunities to maximize waste recovery in local businesses, one area they have identified is pulp generated in label removal in the beverage industry. The bottle recycling process is designed for complete re-use of bottles and as such the labels have to be removed. However, the treatment solvent (sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in water) used to remove the labels increases the pH of the recovered paper pulp to very high basic pH (>10). This represents a safety issue for the workers handling the pulp. In addition, in order to meet paper-recycling standards, contaminant levels must be less than 1% to meet pulp specs for the paper recycling end-user. In this work we will; assess the pH and other bulk properties (such as density) of the pulp, review the literature for methods to remove or reduce the NaOH content of the pulp, test the most promising processes (e.g. filter press) and evaluate the properties of the pulp and any effluent before and after treatment. The outcome will be recommendations on the feasibility of removing the NaOH and water, and possible treatment options along with energy required for the process and possible waste streams generated.