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In September 2001, Garden State Paper (GSP), based in Garfield, New Jersey, had planned to celebrate its 40th anniversary, which, as it turns out, was not to be. The celebration never took place, first because of postponement due to the September 11th terrorist attacks and second because the mill was shut down in December. The company, which annually recycled over 300,000 tons of newsprint back into new 100% recycled newspaper, was purchased for $72 million in August 2000 by Enron, a Houston-based energy company, known most recently for its landmark bankruptcy filing on December 2, 2001. On December 7, 2001, the GSP mill was closed, and ten days later GSP filed for bankruptcy.
GSP continues to operate two recycling facilities: one in Paterson and the other in Carteret. A third recycling facility in Mine Hill closed in December. GSP has received several offers from new buyers for the mill and is hopeful that a new owner will take possession of the mill and possibly two recycling facilities as soon as April 1, 2002.
"GSP was an outstanding example of a company providing high quality service to county and municipal governments, and so the bankruptcy is having a significant impact on recycling programs in New Jersey and the entire region, and that is extremely unfortunate. Ocean County, like everybody else has found alternative markets for the short term," said John Haas, recycling coordinator for the Ocean County Department of Solid Waste Management.
(Continued on page 6)
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