Burgo forced to interrupt containerboard production at Verzuolo mill

11 Feb 2020 − In the midst of the start-up phase, Burgo had to stop production at the Verzuolo containerboard mill due to a problem at the waste water treatment plant. Production will be down for ten days.

The new recycled containerboard machine of Italian paper manufacturer Burgo in Verzuolo has just started up, when it already had to be temporarily shut down again. A spokesperson of the Slc Cgil trade union said that production had been halted on 7 February and would be down for a total of 10 days.

Burgo confirmed the production stop and said that it had become apparent during the start-up phase of PM 9 that work was needed on the site’s waste water treatment plant.

The plant’s effluent treatment plant was targeted by the authorities last week. Arpa, the Regional Environmental Protection Agency, issued a warning to Burgo and suspended the company’s wastewater discharge permit for ten days. Arpa explained that surface water in the Rio Torto river had been found to be polluted, which was attributed to the waste water treatment plant at Burgo’s Verzuolo mill.

The union spokesperson said the company knew about the problems at the plant. The problems would now be solved during the shutdown, which would also be used for minor maintenance work, he added. It is expected that production will then be restarted as normal.

Burgo started the test phase of the rebuilt PM 9 in Verzuolo at the beginning of the year. According to the spokesperson, the company has already produced the first marketable paper volumes.

Burgo Verzuolo produces recycled containerboard on PM 9. The machine used to produce LWC before being rebuilt at the end of last year. It now has an annual capacity of up to 600,000 t. The union spokesman estimated that full capacity will be reached by the end of the year.