Book Print Firm Recycles Paper Dust Using Worms

Edited by the Printingtalk editorial team Apr 4, 2008

Clays, the book printing division of St Ives, has discovered a new kind of bookworm by recycling one of its largest bi-products, paper dust, at a worm farm in Norfolk.

The new environmental initiative that has been implemented at its Bungay (UK) operation has enabled Clays to further support the policies of its like-minded customers, said St Ives.

David Steward, Clays' commodity buyer, said: "We previously disposed of our paper dust in local landfill sites, handling approximately 40 tonnes per year.

Our new process has eliminated this time-consuming activity and the worm farm is utilising the paper dust as a valuable resource." Following the paper handling and printing process, the resulting paper dust is collated throughout the Clays facility as the site is cleaned.

The company incinerates the dust to burn away elements that cannot be recycled and the waste management company, ORM North Norfolk, takes the resulting paper ash away.

Steward continued: "Today, our paper ash is collected every four to five weeks and then mixed in to the worm cast - the soil and compost in which the worms live.

Paper dust is an excellent source of potash, a natural fertiliser.

The worms don't digest the ash as they simply mix it in to the other bedding materials to create a very high-quality soil conditioner." Clays recognised the potential to introduce the environmental initiative when discussing the company's current waste management activities with resource specialists, National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP).

NISP's industrial symbiosis programme is claimed to help provide financial benefits to businesses by creating opportunities for the exchange of waste resources within its members.

Working with Clays, NISP was able to identify the potential commercial and environmental benefits of recycling the ash through ORM North Norfolk.

Steward commented: "We are delighted to introduce this initiative at Clays.

Not only is it a great fit for our business and our value added ethos but we also believe that it is further demonstration of our responsibility to the environment and our push to achieve ISO 14001 accreditation by the end of 2008.".