Greenpeace blocks SCA Östrand pulp mill

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Greenpeace activists are protesting against the alleged destruction of "the last critical forest landscapes in northern Sweden."

Today, the activists of Greenpeace Nordic have blocked the entrances to the SCA Östrand pulp mill in Timrå, Sweden, in order to protest against what they call destruction of the "last critical forest landscapes in northern Sweden." Greenpeace alleges that the SCA Östrand pulp mill, which is also supplying pulp to the tissue maker Essity, is sourcing its wood from logging companies that are destroying forests declared by the Swedish government as being of "particularly high ecological preservation values."

The activists placed a shipping container at the entrance road in order to block timber trucks entering the mill. In addition, several activists chained themselves to the rails leading to the mill and have blocked the exit road to prevent pulp produced at the site being shipped to the customers.

A spokesperson for SCA explained to EUWID that it has not been an easy task to reroute the in- and outbond deliveries, but that production operations at the pulp mill could have been continued without any disruption. Towards midday, the biggest part of the blockage has been already cleared with only the exit road still being closed, he said.

SCA's Östrand pulp mill has a production capacity of 430,000 tpy of bleached kraft pulp. The company is currently investing SEK7.8bn under the "Helios project" to increase the pulp capacity at the Östrand site to 900,000 tpy by June 2018. According to SCA, the demand for bleached kraft pulp is large and reflects a growing demand for tissue.

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