Published: June 18, 2009 08:52 pm      

Developmental center, Luke paper mill now partners in recycling

LUKE — NewPage Corp. in Luke and the Developmental Center & Workshop in Keyser, W.Va., have partnered to reduce landfill waste by recycling core plugs.

A core plug is a small, round piece of wood about the size of a hockey puck that is inserted into each end of a roll of paper. Previously, core plugs removed from rolls that were converted at the Luke Converting Facility were sent to the landfill because there were barcode labels affixed to them, making them unable to be used in the process again.

The mill partnered with the Developmental Center & Workshop to remove the barcode labels. Once the labels are removed, the core plugs are returned to the mill — this time to the winder area of the paper machines where they are inserted into customer rolls.

The Developmental Center & Workshop offers individuals with disabilities the opportunity for job training, life and work skills, and other services. Their clients remove the labels from each core plug by hand. Annette Francis, Developmental Center executive director, expressed great satisfaction with the program. “This is a task which most all our clients can perform,” she said.

Since the program began in July of last year, the Center has processed an average of 7,500 core plugs each month.

“This is a program we can all feel good about,” stated Gary Curtis, Luke Mill manager. “We can help the environment, help support a local human services organization, and save money all at the same time.”

The cost to recycle the core plugs is half of what a new box would cost, which results in approximately $5,000 in savings each year.