The J.D. Cahill of Hampton recently completed installation of a new system that shreds byproducts from its paperboard manufacturing operations into recyclable waste products.

Cahill's new system includes a state-of-the-art baling shredder, which can reduce by 80 percent the volume of surplus, damaged and rejected paper waste sent to the disposal facilities and which efficiently collects and bales mill waste for shipment to recyclers and a paper dust collection system that results in a cleaner operation and finished products.

J.D. Cahill produces paperboard used in the packaging of food products, cosmetics, photographic film, pharmaceuticals, medical products and consumer and industrial goods.

According to Jim Cahill III, company vice president for administration, the new system "makes both environmental and economic sense. We are not only practicing conservation, but making our waste products more useable and marketable.

Cahill's system shreds waste to one fifth its former volume. The resulting product is denser, easier to handle and store and far less costly to transport; this makes the waste much more attractive for reuse on the recycling market, according to Cahill. Moreover, the shredding system enables the company to sort different grades of paper and bundle them for appropriate destinations.

For example, certain coated paper products burn with a high BTU value and are well-suited for waste-to-energy facilities. The shredded waste from such paper burns hotter and cleaner than non-shredded paper. Uncoated waste can be successfully marketed to paperboard recyclers.

"We have made a company-wide commitment to increase our use of recycled raw material and our output of environmentally sound products and to develop new markets and economic incentives for both," Cahill said.

J.D. Cahill, founded in 1939 and headquartered in Hampton, also operates plants in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Pineville, N.C. It is an industry leader in extruding and laminating technology that combines paperboard with a variety of adhesives, laminates and coatings.

Installation of the new system involved a major capital investment in equipment, as well as the construction of support facilities, according to the company.