business backgrounder | economy
“ We look at it as potentially a game-changer .”
— John Begley , CEO , Columbia Pulp
“ The whole genesis of creating a product out of the waste straw came out of the Department of Ecology ’ s interest in addressing the burning and the environmental impacts of the burning ,” said John Begley , CEO of Columbia Pulp . “ Over 20 years ago they set up a process to sell licenses to the growers to burn . So , if you were going to burn you had to buy a license . They used that money from those licenses to fund research into what they could do about it .”
Out of that research came the proprietary process Columbia Pulp will use to convert the waste straw to pulp for a variety of paper products like towels , tissues , and molded fiber plates and cups .
“ We look at it as potentially a game-changer ,” says Begley , a 40-year veteran of the pulp and paper industry . “ There [ are ] more agricultural residuals available for fiber than wood . There is a place here for the two to complement each other , to take some of the pressure off wood and make it more competitive .” The project has dramatic statewide significance . “ This is a very exciting Holy Grail kind of project ,” said Brian Bonlender , Washington state Department of Commerce director . “ A number of innovators have attempted to use waste straw and other byproducts of industry , but until now we haven ’ t seen them scaled up . This project is iron in the ground , in a rural community , at a time when our rural economies are struggling . To top it off , this was all made possible by a team of local industry experts commercializing a technology developed at one of our state research universities . What ’ s not to like ?”
“ It can definitely support farm viability by creating a new market and revenue stream from surplus straw ,” says Evan Sheffels , with the Washington State Farm Bureau . “ That straw can be hard for producers to manage in high-yield Southeast Washington .”
Sheffels initially calls it a win-win for the farmers and Columbia Pulp . He quickly adds two more winners : the environment and the rural economy .
Reduced erosion and degradation of air quality from burning are clear environmental benefits . There ’ s more . Converting wheat straw to pulp will require less energy , water and chemicals — it ’ s not a sulfur-based process — than are traditionally associated with wood pulp mills . spring 2018 55