Tour Demonstrates Sustainability of Facility’s State-of-the-Art Recycling Operation

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — Domtar’s Kingsport Mill recently hosted teachers from across the Commonwealth of Virginia as part of the Trees to Products program.

The program, which is coordinated by Virginia Cooperative Education and the Southwest Virginia Chapter Society of American Foresters, covers the fundamentals of forestry and the wood industry. Visiting K-12 teachers learned about the sustainable and renewable resource of trees and how they are converted into a variety of products widely used today.

During their visit, educators toured the machine at the heart of the Kingsport Mill’s recent conversion to a 100 percent recycled containerboard operation. The mill is now capable of producing approximately 600,000 tons of high-quality recycled linerboard and corrugated medium each year. It is the largest recycled manufacturer in Tennessee and prevents approximately 50,000 tons of recycling residuals and other byproducts from entering landfills each year.

During the four-day continuing education session, the group also visited Virginia Forest Products sawmill, Unaka Forest Products chip mill, Speyside Cooperage, Wetlands Estonoa and High Knob. The Trees to Products program offered participating educators 30 hours of professional development credit upon completion.

Teachers from across the Commonwealth of Virginia recently visited Domtar’s Kingsport Mill during the four-day Trees to Products continuing education session.