Demand for old cartons can ease solid waste disposal headache
The local paper and corrugated carton manufacturer Caribbean Container Inc. (CCI) is seeking to collaborate with local business houses and other organizations to increase its supply of Old Corrugated Cartons (OCCs) to “feed” its paper plant at Providence.
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Offi-cer Ron Webster told Stabroek Business earlier this week that the company is seeking to sensitize potential suppliers to the demand for locally generated OCCs which are recycled by the plant into paper used to manufacture corrugated cartons.
CCI currently imports most of its old corrugated material and Webster told Stabroek Business that the company is seeking to reduce its dependence on imported raw material as it seeks ways of enhancing its competitiveness.
CCI presently imports waste paper from Trinidad and Tobago and according to Webster the company will shortly commence imports from Barbados. However Stabroek Business understands that the move by CCI to increase its intake of locally collected OCCs has arisen out of an increased global demand for the raw material which is used in the manufacture of recycled corrugated cartons. China, one of the world’s largest producers of corrugated Cartons has been seeking to import more waste paper from the region.
“We have a capacity to use between 400 and 500 tons of OCC;s each month and we are offering local suppliers the same price that we pay for imported OCC’s,” Webster told Stabroek Business.
CCI has already entered into arrangements with some of the country’s major importers, distributors and retailers and according to Webster the company is also interested in using its demand for waste paper to create economic opportunities for youth groups, voluntary organizations and “ordinary enterprising Guyanese. He said that CCI was seeking to strengthen and refine the current arrangements that exist for the purchase of OCC’s. “Among other things we believe that this is an excellent opportunity for institutions like youth clubs and voluntary organizations to earn a steady income,” Webster said. “In cases where waste paper is collected in sufficient volumes we will send for it” he added. “
CCI Company Secretary and Legal Adviser Patricia Bacchus told Stabroek Business that the company is seeking to create urban collection points where OCCs can be stored prior to being taken to Providence. She said that the company was particularly keen to establish long-term relationships with vendors who may be in position to supply large volumes of waste paper on a regular basis.
Earlier this week Stabroek Business visited CCI’s Paper Plant and witnessed the paper recycling process which involves the liquefying, and processing of old cartons in various stages leading to the production of paper. The plant produces around twenty-five 2-ton rolls of paper daily for processing into corrugated cartons.
Meanwhile, Webster told Stabroek Business that CCI will be seeking to expand the range of its products to include brown paper bags which are currently imported into Guyana.
CCI has several regional markets for its corrugated cartons and Webster told Stabroek Business that local fish processing plants represent a substantial portion of the domestic market for corrugated cartons.
Webster told Stabroek Business that CCI was particularly keen on evaluating the impact of the company’s demand for waste paper on the management of solid waste. According to Webster a study conducted in Guyana some years ago revealed that the OCC component of solid waste amounted to around 6oo metric tons per month. “By far the greater portion of landfill is waste paper and by removing OCC’s from the waste stream we can significantly reduce the cost of landfill management and ease the burden on the refuse collection system,” he said.
Bacchus told Stabroek Business that ideally the company’s efforts to increase its collection of locally generated waste paper would work best in circumstances where it received support from the garbage disposal and environmental agencies. She said that that CCI had already begun to engage the Soild Waste Disposal Department of City Hall and that the company was now seeking to have discussions with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
