Saica Group — a Spain-based company that opened a production facility in Hamilton in 2022 — has submitted a zoning code text amendment application that asks the city of Dayton to modify its zoning regulations.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Saica wants to build and operate a recycled paper mill facility at the northeast corner of Little Richmond and Olive roads in northwest Dayton, just south of Trotwood, that could employ about 230 full-time workers, say documents submitted to the city. The site has recently been used for agricultural purposes.
Saica is asking the city to approve a zoning code amendment that would separate paper recycling from the city’s prohibition on all paper and pulp manufacturing.
The company says it makes sense for Dayton to have a prohibition on pulp mills that process raw timber. But the company says recycled paper product manufacturing facilities have completely different processes that have a much smaller environmental impact.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Saica said these kinds of facilities are already located in densely populated areas across the U.S.
“Recycled paper product facilities do not use the noxious chemicals found at pulp mills, nor do they have the raw material storage requirements of such an operation,” says Saica in a proposal it submitted to the city. “Modern recycled paper product facilities do not present the odor or water use issues of some pulp mills. Because of the advanced technology used at recycled paper product facilities, it is not uncommon for them to be located in or near urban population centers.”
Pulp mills can produce unpleasant smells and pollution.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Saica Group has more than 11,500 employees who are spread across the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Poland, Ireland, Turkey, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Saica opened a corrugated packaging factory in Hamilton in spring of 2022. The company says it plans to build a second corrugated packaging factory in Indiana, beginning in 2025.
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