Metsä Fibre produces wood-based bioproducts, such as pulp, sawn timber, biochemicals and bioenergy. They have a strong focus on recovering waste and side streams and minimising the amount of waste going to landfill.

They make every effort to use side streams and process waste, such as green liquor sludge, ash from energy production and lime ash from pulp production; in fact, almost 90% of production side streams from their mills are used as various by-products and energy. 

They have come up with ways to use their own waste as a resource: the Äänekoski and Kemi bioproduct mills make sulphuric acid from the mill’s gases, boosting its closed chemicals cycle and minimising any sulphate discharges into waterways. Green liquor dregs are a problem since they contain metals derived from wood, including heavy metals, as well as a small amount of cooking liquor. Metsä Fibre is looking for ways to use this, and possible solutions include using it as a replacement for crushed rock or as an alkali activator in geopolymers, which can be used as an alternative to concrete.