The Solvay, New York 100% recycled paper mill recently completed a $30 million upgrade to its anaerobic wastewater pretreatment and recycling system, marking the latest advancement for a facility that has steadily evolved since its construction in 1994.

The project was driven by the need to reduce solids and organics sent to the municipal treatment system, improve process reliability, and support greater production flexibility as the mill continues to increase containerboard output.

At the core of the upgrade is a new state of the art internal circulation reactor, which breaks down organic compounds in the mill’s wastewater and converts them into biogas. The upgrade also included construction of new infrastructure that enables the mill to use the biogas generated on site as a carbon neutral fuel for its two boilers.

By offsetting natural gas consumption, the Solvay mill expects to avoid approximately 5,000 metric tonnes of fossil fuel related CO₂e emissions annually.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the enhanced system improves effluent quality by lowering COD and TSS, reducing the load on the local wastewater authority and helping increase municipal treatment capacity.

These improvements strengthen the mill’s long-term environmental performance and reinforce its role in supporting circular economy packaging through reliable production of recycled fiber using more efficient, lower impact processes.