A dozen employees at Tembec, Manitoba's largest recycler of old newspapers, are expected to lose their jobs as the company stops taking old papers in favour of using new trees to make newsprint.

The Tembec paper mill in Pine Falls has been using recycled newspaper stock to make new newsprint, de-inking about 100 tonnes of old newspaper every day.

But this week, Tembec sent a memo to suppliers saying it won't accept any more recycled paper.

It's estimated Tembec could consume 200,000 more trees each year by not recycling old newspaper.
(CBC)

As more people read their news online, the price of newsprint to make papers has plummeted, Tembec spokesman Richard Fahey said Friday, and it's cheaper to use new trees to make paper.

"Obviously the cost of the input is so high it doesn't make economic sense to use the de-ink plant in order to produce paper that will wind up on the market at a depressed price," he said.

The de-inking facility will close at the beginning of April, the memo said. Twelve jobs at the mill in Pine Falls will be lost in the closure.

Fahey would not say exactly how many trees will be cut down each year, but it's estimated Tembec could consume 200,000 more trees each year by not recycling old newspaper.

The news came as a shock to recyclers in Manitoba.

"That certainly would seem to be a step in the wrong direction if we're trying to be a greener or more environmentally conscious province," said Randall McQuaker with Resource Conservation Manitoba.

'It's pretty dismaying'

"From an environmental perspective, it's pretty dismaying if there is not a local or regional market for the recycled fibre that's collected in the province."

While he sympathized with the company's position, McQuaker said it's a step backwards for the green movement, since recyclers will now be forced to ship old newspapers outside the province.

"It's important that things be recycled as close as possible to where they're used and where the material is produced," he said. "Shipping stuff long distances really reduces the net environmental benefit of recycling."

Gerald Hawranik, the MLA for the Pine Falls area, is sensitive to Tembec's plight. He said the province should step in to protect both the trees and the 200 jobs at the Pine Falls facility.

"I think government should be offering incentives to Tembec to use recycled paper," he said. "I think it's their obligation to do that."

The province says it will look into the matter — but recyclers say they need intervention now, since Tembec has already stopped accepting recycling.