Domtar supporting Planet vs. Plastics during Earth Day activities

Domtar’s 2024 Earth Day theme was “Planet vs. Plastic”, and their Earth Choice Committee organized another successful Big Foot Scavenger Hunt & Hike at Jeffreys Cliffs on Saturday, April 20th. The committee chooses activities throughout the year with a focus on community engagement, that are centered around literacy, sustainability and wellness.

Domtar EHS & Engineering Administrative Assistant and Earth Choice Committee Member Kristin Rapp said, “We try to tie that into the events that we do, such as the Jeffreys Cliffs hike, along with the new Poster Contest and the 5K for Autism Awareness.”

The Earth Choice Committee is made up and led by all Domtar employees who are able to participate actively in various earth-friendly events that they plan in the community each year. All of Domtar’s mills have a committee that provides activities and events for their individual communities.

This was the 2nd Annual Big Foot Hunt & Hike. Committee members were brainstorming about fun ways to get the community to come and hike at the Cliffs and that’s when they came up with the idea for the “Big Foot Scavenger Hunt” theme. Adults and children alike love the nature scavenger hunt and hike and Domtar presents awards, as well as having a variety of small giveaways at the entrance of Jeffreys Cliffs during Earth Day, including frisbees, seed packets, snacks, water and Big Foot-themed stickers. The event is open to all members of the community, and all donations benefit Jeffreys Cliffs.

First Annual Domtar Earth Day Poster Contest

Domtar provided Emilie Young’s 4th & 5th Grade Art Class students at North Hancock Elementary with poster boards and markers this year. They worked on creating their posters for a few weeks, and the theme was: “Planet vs. Plastic”, Domtar’s 2024 theme. Bookmarks and seeds were given to all student participants.

“We went with NHES because it would just provide a smaller number of entries this first year,” Kristin said. “This is the first year we’ve done something like this in a really long time. Next time we do this, whether it be for Earth Day or another themed activity, we would probably try to go with South Hancock Elementary, or include both schools.”

The Top 3 student poster creators were awarded and their posters were displayed at the Big Foot Hunt & Hike this year. The winning posters will also be featured in The Clarion.

Domtar Poster Winners pictured from left to right: Lille Rice, Serenity Patterson, Domtar Environmental Engineer Melanie Howard, Layla McKinney, Ben Hagen, Ailynn Mosby, Domtar Maintenance Planner Renae Pierrard and Lylia Spencer.

Tiny Library Installed at Jeffreys Cliffs

Did you know that Domtar’s Earth Choice Committee purchased and installed a Tiny Library at Jeffreys Cliffs just a few weeks ago?! “We’ve already been filling it up with family friendly books,” Kristin said. “People have already been taking from it, which is what it’s for. We plan to keep it as stocked as we can throughout the year.

We’re really excited about it. We were excited that it is already being utilized. The goal for us, is we were trying to put a lot of family friendly, nature-themed books in there. If they’re coming to hike, they probably like that kind of stuff.

I don’t think there would be an issue with people who either want to return books that they’ve taken from it, or if they have gently-used, family friendly books that they wanted to put in there. If it could just be utilized, and if that includes other people coming and donating to it that would be perfectly fine. So far, all of the books have been purchased by Domtar. That is the plan, is for Domtar to keep it stocked.”

Domtar EarthChoice Committee members with the Tiny Library after they installed it! Employees pictured are: Meredith Strickland, Kristin Rapp, Renae Pierrard, Gabe
Grimes, Melanie Howard, Janet Wagner

Domtar Book Drive

Domtar has an Annual Book Drive from December-January and donates the books to a local library. “We had already donated those books from this year before we had purchased the Tiny Library,” she said, “but moving forward we may even use some of those donated from the mill to go in there and use it for that as well.

We do really well at our Book Drive for the mill. Those drives are Domtar employee led also. In 2023, we donated to the Hancock County Public Library and this year we donated to the Perry County Public Library. We put a lot of focus into Hancock County because that’s where the mill is and where a lot of our employees are from, but even the surrounding areas, we try to do things where we can.”

Domtar Glasses Drive

Domtar has partnered with the Lions Club and they are going to provide some collection boxes to be set-up around the Hawesville mill in various departments so that employees can bring in their old eyeglasses that they no longer use. Those will then be recycled through the Lions Club.

Earth Day at the Mill

All employees at the Hawesville mill were given white oak tree saplings to take home and plant. “A lot of people take them home and plant them on their property,” Kristin said. “Sometimes they’ll give them away to other people that might prefer to plant them. They really enjoy getting the trees.

Last year, we gave out small dogwood bushes. It went over well, but we were trying to mix it up and do something this year that will be a little bigger. A white oak will live a really long time. We also give out literature regarding Earth Day and recycling.”

River Sweep

Employee volunteers go to the river bank on the Domtar property to clean up litter/waste once a year, and this year’s River Sweep is scheduled for May. “For the River Sweep,” she explained, “it is for Domtar employees only because it is on Domtar property. It is totally volunteer. All supplies are furnished by Domtar and at the end of the work day we all just go out and pick up and clean up what we can until the next year.”

2024 Autism Awareness 5K

Kristin said Domtar does plan to do the Autism Awareness 5K again this year. Last year’s 5K Run & Walk was held in downtown Hawesville on October 21st.  All of the proceeds were matched by Domtar and donated to Autism Advocates of Hancock County.

Biodegradable Products

Domtar announced last year that they would be investing $51 million into upgrading equipment at the 50-year-old Hawesville mill. They are repurposing one of the 2 paper machines (pulpers) to produce fiber-based, biodegradable products such as earth-friendly “plastic” bags. This project is still in the works but there are no updates available yet, Kristin said. The conversion is a long process and takes time.

Domtar Paper Company celebrated 175 years of business last year, with around 6,400 employees in over 50 countries. The Hawesville mill employs approximately 400 employees. They produce 600,000 tons of fine, specialty paper each year.

If you’d like to apply for a position at Domtar, go to Domtar.com, and complete the application process. There are computers available to use at the HC Career Center, the KY Career Center and the public libraries. Domtar is located at 58 Wescor Road in Hawesville.

By Jennifer Wimmer