The Wilderness Committee is pleased to hear that both the Manitoba and Canadian governments are financially supporting research and development of tree-free paper products in rural Manitoba which will lessen the need to clearcut valuable boreal forest.

This announcement is ecologically encouraging as it is beneficial to divert agricultural waste while reducing the demand for logging from critical boreal area.

 

Prairie Pulp and Paper is aiming to build Canada’s first large-scale commercial mill in the province to create high-quality paper from agricultural crop byproducts such as straw. “This is welcome news for Manitobans”, says Eric Reder, Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee, “as this sustainable innovation demonstrates that we do not need to be clearcutting boreal forest in eastern Manitoba when there are other, more environmentally friendly, alternatives available for paper production.”

 

This announcement is also promising in lieu of the closure of Tembec’s Pine Falls Mill last December. “The development of new tree-free paper products provides proof that we don’t need to reopen a coal-fired dinosaur that was once the province’s third largest polluter,” said Reder. According to Pollution Watch, the now closed mill had been responsible for releasing large quantities of toxins, including carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and phosphorous, into our environment.

 

The Wilderness Committee is calling on the provincial government to publicly state that they will not allow the Pine Falls mill to reopen until it meets current emission standards and incorporates alternative fiber sources into its operations.

 

“Ultimately,” says Reder, “the boreal forest serves both Manitobans and the world greater when it is intact and able to provide clean air and freshwater well into the future.”
 

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For more information please contact:

Eric Reder, the Wilderness Committee’s Manitoba Campaign Director, (204) 997–8584