Durango-McKinley Paper Company - Sustainable & Responsible Business of the Week

Durango-McKinley Paper Company (Prewitt NM) uses over 700 tons of waste corrugated cardboard daily to manufacture paperboard for corrugated packaging. The company has several locations throughout the southwestern United States.


Durango-McKinley Paper Company is not your standard paper mill. Consider the company's environmental efforts toward cleaner production methods:

• 100% of raw materials are from reycled paper, no fresh cut trees are ever used.



• the company utilizes a closed circuit manufacturing process which produces zero emissions.



• 100% of water used in the manufacturing process is treated, recycled, and used again. This has reduced water usage from an average of 2.5 million gallons a day to 150,000 gallons a day.



• this is a factory that requires no environmental permits because it does not emit any gas or liquid into the environment.



• the company has won several environmental awards. For example, in 2005, the company won awards for exceeding its materials use reduction goal by 1,000 tons, showed a 20 percent improvement in materials efficiency over three years, reduced its water use by two million gallons per year and its landfill waste by over 3,200 tons and its annual electricity use by almost 5,000 MwH, and showed an 11 percent improvement in electricity efficiency.

Parent company, Corporacion Durango of Mexico, has recently filed bankruptcy and will sell Durango-McKinley Paper.


Sustainable & Responsible Business of the Week is a weekly behind-the-scenes look at what businesses are doing to be more sustainable and responsible in their operations.


Sustainable & Responsible Business of the Week: If they can do it, so can you!