BalticFloc
Waste paper becomes cellulose insulation, fibre, granules and absorbents.
BalticFloc has long experience not only in recycling waste but also in using it to create new materials for a wide range of applications.
Its main line of work today is recycling waste paper. It is the only company in Latvia producing two unique paper-based products: a cellulose additive for asphalt and an absorbent for collecting environmentally hazardous substances.
BalticFloc works with more than 200 companies in Latvia and in that way helps the Latvian economy become greener and more natural.
Goal and production process
The company's main goals are efficient recycling of secondary raw materials, creating high-quality, economical and environmentally friendly products and, above all, substantially reducing the consumption of natural resources in Latvia and Europe through rational resource use and reuse of recycled products.
Production starts by freeing the incoming waste paper of unwanted contaminants. The paper is then shredded so it can be used in production, and only after that are the new materials made.
Symbiosis
Large volumes of waste paper arrive at BalticFloc at the start of the chain: on average more than 274 tonnes a month. After sorting, the paper goes into a giant industrial shredder, where it is broken down and treated with natural salts.
By mixing the shredded raw material in different proportions the company makes several end products: cellulose insulation, absorbents, cellulose fibre and granules.
In 2022 the recycled paper yielded 1295 tonnes of cellulose insulation, 86 tonnes of absorbent, 239 tonnes of cellulose fibre and BalticFloc granules, 356 tonnes of cellulose granules and 2 tonnes of cellulose granules for animals. The products are ecological, safe for human health and efficient in use.
It is estimated that processing one tonne of waste paper saves an average of 4 m³ of timber and preserves 12 to 14 mature trees. In 2022 alone the company recycled 3293 tonnes of waste paper, saving roughly 40 thousand trees.
Research and society
As it expands capacity, the company continuously adopts new technologies and carries out research to create innovative products. It cooperates with research institutes in Latvia, among them Riga Technical University and the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry, as well as in Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Finland, testing its output and developing original, environmentally friendly products.
Alongside its scientific work the company runs social and educational activities and takes an active part in waste paper collection programmes.