Brothers Ron and John Sasine of Crossroads Paper were present at a special meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners on April 22 and announced that they intend to construct a 24/7 paper recycling facility in Humboldt County, although they did not announce a definitive location yet.
According to Humboldt County Economic Development Officer Michelle Hammond-Allen, the project with Crossroads Paper will not only diversify the local economy, but provide $43 million in tax revenue and has an estimated economic value of $1 billion.
Crossroads Paper CEO Ron Sasine said that the facility will be recycling used paper materials in order to create large rolls of containerboard that they will sell to other companies that will use the rolls to make cardboard boxes, exporting most of the material they produce outside of Nevada to the west coast.
“Our project team has been focused on bringing the best possible economic and environmental outcome to the project…There’s a large international domestic market for our product and we know the location will export upwards to 80 percent of our product outside the state of Nevada,” explained Ron Sasine.
Location — Why
Humboldt County?
Although their original intent was to construct the facility in Salt Lake City, UT close to home, logistical pieces had them move farther along the I-80 corridor to Humboldt County where they have found the interstate access, rail availability, expanded electrical grid capabilities and natural gas services, and other economic aspects that will allow construction and efficient imports and exports of materials.
Sasine explained that there is a high demand for paperboard products on the west coast and a lack of convenient suppliers. Materials are currently brought in from areas on the other side of the country.
“This new facility will have the capacity to produce over 1,000 tons of 100 percent recycled content containerboard each day,” said Sasine.
Additionally, Humboldt County, according to Sasine, has a favorable business climate with a supportive local government and community, access to skilled-laborers, a history of success for both major mining and agricultural developments, and experience with industrial projects.
“Much of the focus of this effort is serving markets up and down the West Coast and Humboldt County is strategically located to put an operation here who is strategically located to serve those markets in under a day’s drive. That logistics advantage is driven by the interstates and by the rail connectivity that allows us to reach those remote locations,” said Sasine.
Having also met with the Winnemucca City Council on April 23, Crossroads did state during the meeting that they are considering constructing the facility in the Winnemucca Industrial Loop near the Municipal Airport, due to its proximity to the interstate and rail access, but the location is not official yet.
The facility will require an expanded electrical grid and natural gas services, and Sasine explained that the specifications are under development with NV Energy and Southwest Gas and will determine the exact location of the facility.
John Sasine said that information about the electrical grids and other utility services from NV Energy and Southwest Gas are still approximately 90 days out.
Community Impact
County residents were skeptical about the amount of water usage and the rumored location of the facility because of allegations that pollutants, like chemicals, have saddled recycled paper mills with possible increased risks of cancer for employees, but Ron Sasine explained that the facility will use a more modern approach to recycling the paper material that will be chemical-free.
Sulfur dioxide gives off a strong pungent smell and is responsible for the odor that plagues many traditional virgin paper plants. However, sulfur dioxide will not be used; cornstarch will be the only material added to the products (to stiffen the containerboard) besides water at the Crossroads facility, according to Sasine.
Traditional paper mills use pine tree fiber as a fiber source, natural rivers as a source of water, cut trees that are later replanted, on-site mass boilers as a power source, sulfur dioxide for pulping, and transport materials with trucks.
Sasine explained to the Commission that the Crossroads facility will utilize more clean and modern practices, using corrugated boxes as a fiber source, groundwater, natural gas and the local electrical grid for power, no tree harvesting, water and agitation for pulping, and interstate and railways for transportation.
The facility will also employ around 100 people during operation and about 600 short-term jobs during the peak of construction, with an estimated build-out of 24 months.
“Construction is expected to begin later this year and we anticipate starting operations in 2026,” said Sasine.
Sasine explained that the job opportunities will give Humboldt County residents the option for shorter commutes and more traditional hours, while still having access to wages and benefits competitive with prominent local industries, with pay starting at $40 per hour.
The estimated 220,000 square foot facility will use technology and systems that will require engineers, machinery operators, and logistics specialists.
“We’re going to create additional employment opportunities for skilled labor. Folks in this facility will be highly skilled, highly educated,” Sasine said.
The Commissioners raised significant concern about the lack of housing in Humboldt County and the sourcing of the construction workers.
“Six hundred [construction workers] is not consistent with that sort of peak period of time when we have pipe fitters and electricians jobs, so it’ll ramp up and ramp down,” explained Ron Sasine.
Sasine said that their construction partner, Yates Construction, will be outsourcing most of their workers and looking into man-camp types of housing for the workers, although some local sources for workers and housing will be utilized if possible.
Traffic to and from the facility was another major concern brought up by both the Commissioners and during public comment.
Sasine said “There will be trucks moving in and around location as product is arriving and trucks arriving with product and to ship it. There’s always going to be an issue.”
“I would just ask that while you’re continuing to look for location and you consider the surrounding folks that live in those areas and how that will affect those folks just the same as you would consider what the power and gas would use,” Commissioner Jesse Hill said to Ron and John Sasine.
Sustainability
The facility will have its own wastewater treatment facility and a rapid infiltration system that will make the facility “water responsible” and use a state-of-the art, modern recycled paper machine from a company called Valmet from Finland.
According to Sasine, the facility will only consume about 330-acre feet of water a year out of the 1,300-acre feet that will initially be pulled into the facility, with 75 percent of the total water being cleaned and then recharged to the aquifer.
The consumptive use is said to be one-third of the agricultural use that is already taking place, but Commissioner Ron Cerri pointed out that the facility will need the equivalent of four agricultural pivots worth of water and the consumptive water usage will be comparable to running one pivot.
Sasine said in an email after the meeting that along with large imports, materials will also be sourced locally.
“Rather than having drop offs on site, we plan to set up drop off locations that are centrally located. We certainly want to retrieve and recycle all the used cardboard boxes we can from the local community, so we plan to make those drop off locations as convenient for locals as possible. We have a lot of experience with consumer-focused municipal recycling programs, and ease of use for consumers is a very important key to a successful program,” he explained.