CANADA (From news reports) -- The Catalyst-Crofton pulp mill has ceased production of paper or pulp for the month of July.

Graham Kissack, Vice President of Environment, Health, and Safety, and Corporate Communication at mill owner Paper Excellence, says the 30 days of down-time began on June 30th.

Kissack says there is a low global demand, for pulp and paper right now, and its Crofton operation is not alone in taking a hit.

He says the curtailment will affect about 450 workers, but they are looking at how many can remain at the mill for maintenance and says others may opt to take vacation time during July.

Kissack says work on the project launched earlier this year to convert a production line at the Crofton mill to make stronger, water-resistant paper to replace single-use plastics will not be affected.

Meanwhile, Paper Excellence announced it has once again been voted one of Canada's Best 50 corporate citizens by the magazine Corporate Knights.

In a news release, Paper Excellence says the award is judged by using key performance indicators about its use of raw resources, emissions, social performance, safety and percentage of revenue from clean sources.

The company says that last year it achieved a 67 per cent reduction in its greenhouse gas emission relative to 1990.