Renew America Success Stories

Bronx Community Paper Company

 

Description

The Bronx Community Paper Company (BCPC) project is an innovative effort to bring a recycled paper mill to a depressed neighborhood in New York City's poorest census tract. A unique collaboration among two for-profit corporations, a community development corporation and a national environmental group, the project will expand recycling efforts, protect the environment and bring hundreds of new, livable wage manufacturing jobs to the neighborhood.

The project has three separate beginnings. Yolanda Rivera, chairwoman of the Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, had been looking for a community development project for the South Bronx, where steady deterioration has raised unemployment rates as high as 75%. Rivera, however, wanted to ensure such an enterprise would have little environmental impact, especially since more highly polluting industries are traditionally sited in low-income communities of color.

Alan Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) who specializes in solid waste issues, was looking to spur development of recycled paper mills in the New York City area to take advantage of what some environmentalists refer to as the "urban forest": the 10,000 tons of waste paper produced every day by residents and businesses in New York City.

Finally, two paper companies, S.D. Warren and the MoDo Paper Company, were looking for high-quality, low-cost recycled paper stock to meet their customers' growing demand.

Hershkowitz and Rivera met, and within months the plan to build a low-emission, energy- and water-efficient paper mill was born. S.D. Warren and the MoDo Paper Company have invested $250,000 and $300,000, respectively, in the project.

Usually the prospect for success of building such a facility in New York City is slim due to numerous pitfalls that can arise: zoning and permitting, community concerns and environmental lawsuits. The developers of this project say its success to date is in large part due to involving the community early on and listening to their concerns. The projected was initiated by NRDC only after they were invited to do so by Banana Kelly, which has worked for years in the community and enjoys its trust. More than 220 meetings have been held to discuss concerns, with 122 of these occurring in the Bronx. In particular, the community has directed attention toward the minimization of technological impacts and the promotion of environmental justice.

The facility will be built upon the Harlem Rail Yard, which will require minor environmental remediation. The mill will produce 2,200 jobs during construction and more than 600 permanent full-time jobs during operation.

Program Highlights

Program Details

• The manufacturing facility will be an integrated recycling paper mill, including a wastepaper de-inking plant, a newsprint paper making machine, a wastepaper sorting plant and a steam boiler.
• The project will advance the market for economically viable recycling of 100% post-consumer, totally chlorine-free paper.
• The mill will serve as a solid waste alternative for a city recently proposing to build seven large waste incinerators.
• The paper mill will enable a major paper-making company to use secondary fibers for the manufacture of its newsprint, a commodity that is now manufactured mostly with virgin timber.
• The Harlem Rail Yard, an abandoned industrial facility in an out-of-use rail yard, will serve as the site of the mill. An additional goal of the project is to redevelop the rails, which will then serve as a transportation corridor for materials to and from the facility.
• The project will pioneer the use of water from a reclaimed sewage wastewater treatment plant, keeping water costs one-third lower than comparable fresh water.
• A comprehensive air study of the South Bronx was initiated to ensure technologies will be implemented to reduce to the greatest extent possible all emissions from the facility.
• The project will incorporate innovative energy-efficient technologies not implemented in any other paper mill in the country.
• The mill will utilize a chlorine-free de-inking technology that produces no air emissions or odors.
• Maya Lin, designer of the National Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC, will design the facility's layout and structure.

The BCPC also intends to fund several additional community development projects in the neighborhood. Possible projects include:

• The Bronx Dormitory Project. A joint venture between Banana Kelly and Bronx Regional High School that will provide shelter for up to 20 students attending the high school who do not have stable living arrangements.
• The South Bronx Family Learning Center. A proposed 35,000-square-foot center that will include health care, child care, literacy classes, employment and training centers and housing opportunities.
• The Prospect Corridor Commercial Development Project. This project will promote local economic development by connecting existing and planned residences with a retail strip on Prospect Avenue.
• The Library Project. A project to increase the availability of library services in the South Bronx by providing additional equipment, supplies and materials to local libraries.
• Business and Housing Revolving Loan Fund. This project will provide a pool of working capital to be used by small entrepreneurs to purchase inventory, equipment or supplies to meet their contractual obligations and expansion needs. The fund will concentrate its services on housing groups that require basic repairs or replacement of major systems in their buildings.
• The Children's Endowment Fund. To be administered by Banana Kelly, this fund will enhance and expand the educational and vocational opportunities available to children.

Vital Statistics

Program Management/Partnerships: The facility is a joint project of the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association. Partners include S.D. Warren and the MoDo Paper Company (Stockholm, Sweden).

Budget: $485 million total project cost.

Community Served: The project will bring jobs to the residents of the poorest census tract in the South Bronx, where unemployment runs as high as 75%.

Measures of Success:

The mill will produce 100% post-consumer chlorine-free recycled paper.

The de-inking process will produce no air pollution or odors.

The use of reclaimed water will reduce water costs by one third.

The project is expected to produce 600 permanent jobs.

 Published: May 1997

Success stories designed by Mark W. Nowak

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