Georgia-Pacific to close Bellingham tissue mill

Georgia-Pacific to close Bellingham tissue mill A nearly 45-year-old tissue paper mill at the Port of Bellingham will be shuttered in December, taking with it more than 200 local jobs, owner Georgia-Pacific announced Wednesday.
   Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific cited the rising costs of energy, fiber and freight as contributors to the decision to close the 175,000-square-foot waterfront plant.
   The shutdown notice did not come as a surprise to workers, but a representative for the plant workers' union said the several months lead time was appreciated. Wednesday's notice, said the union, was in sharp contrast to the relatively sudden closure of the nearby Georgia-Pacific pulp mill in 2001 that cost 400 workers their jobs.
   Georgia-Pacific said it expects the tissue mill to operate normally until mid-December, when the shutdown process will begin and the firm's other plants begin to increase output to meet demand.
   Two years ago, Georgia-Pacific agreed to hand its 137 acres of waterfront property, including the tissue mill site, over to the Port of Bellingham. In return, the port agreed to handle environmental clean-up on the site and nearby waterways.