It’s not everyday where you find a 100% sustainable cardboard plant, yet Rand-Whitney Containerboard located in Montville, Connecticut stands at the helm of environmental innovation. In fact, there’s roughly  20 manufacturing plants that use 100% recycled fiber to make cardboard in the United States. Committed to sustainability, the use of 100% post consumer waste transforms previously used cardboard into environmentally friendly packaging goods, ranging from paper rolls to cardboard for consumers. In a world where reduce, reuse, recycle is more than just a mantra, it’s a necessary response to the escalating climate crisis. Rand-Whitney leads the charge by pushing the boundaries of waste reduction and resource efficiency.

Not only does Rand-Whitney Containerboard use recycled cardboard to make the containerboard, but also reuses excessive electricity. The rest of the unused electricity is sold to the Town of Montville power plant. The facility also recycles 700,000 gallons of water daily, almost the entirety of the 750,000 gallons consumed each day. The 50,000 gallons are taken in from the production of steam when drying the containerboard. This reclaimed water also flows back to benefit the Town of Montville.

Kathy Pflugbeil, Technical Manager at Randy-Whitney Containerboard, oversees the environmental compliance to ensure the company remains compliant with environmental laws within the State of Connecticut. She notes although the entire production of the containerboard doesn’t emit a lot of greenhouse gases, the energy-intensive process of generating electricity production does. “We’ve produced almost 100,000 tons a year of greenhouse gas, and 98% of it is from generating electricity,” she says. The average cardboard plant stands to emit 250,000 tons of greenhouse gasses a year. Rand-Whitney plans to hire a team to track metrics in the foreseeable future to help decrease the amount of greenhouses emitted to increase sustainability.

The process begins by feeding post-consumer cardboard into a pulper, where it is broken down into a slurry that separates the material into individual fibers by a propeller. These fibers are then transferred to a boiler system, where water is heated to produce steam. The steam travels through a network of tubes to the paper machine, providing heat to the drying section. As the paper moves through this stage, excess moisture is removed. Once drying is complete, the result is a newly formed paper product made from recycled materials.

 Bob Noiseux, Cogeneration Plant Manager, oversees the process of steam powered by electricity in the power plant. He says, “We burn natural gas, but it’s incredibly thermally efficient. The thermal efficiency at our power plant is about 80%, we’re able to extract both power and steam with it. And so as a result we use 80% of the energy in natural gas, which you really won’t find that anywhere else.”

Continuing to lead the way in sustainability, Rand-Whitney is taking bold steps to reduce their carbon footprint. In an era where environmental responsibility seems no longer optional, Rand-Whitney Containerboard exemplifies what meaningful sustainability can look like in practice. By transforming 100% post-consumer waste into usable products, recycling vast amounts of water, and repurposing excess energy for community benefit, the company demonstrates that industrial operations can align with ecological priorities. While challenges remain, their commitment to improve allows for a forward-thinking approach, as industries worldwide grapple with environmental impact. Rand-Whitney stands as a  model of how innovation, accountability, and sustainability can work hand in hand to shape a future.