Technical Bulletin No. 0798: Utilizing Paper Mill By-Products as Forest Soil Amendments: Forest Responses, Recommendations, and Industry Case Studies

Millions of tons of wastewater treatment plant (WTP) residuals and boiler ash are generated as byproducts from the U.S. pulp and paper industry. These by-products have the potential to enhance forest growth and long-term site productivity when land-applied. Land application may be a particularly valuable tool for replenishing nutrients and organic matter removed from whole-tree harvesting or other intensive forest management practices, and could also be used to rejuvenate marginal sites that are naturally infertile or degraded from past land-use practices or other anthropogenic factors.