When the Pactiv Evergreen paper mill sounded its final whistle on June 8, 115 years of continuous operation in Canton came to an end. 1,100 jobs were lost and some heavy questions remain about what will happen to those people, along with the 185-acre site and its buildings. Cory Vaillancourt and Holly Kays, reporters with the Smoky Mountain News in Waynesville, have led local coverage of the plant’s closure. We talk about the business trends that led to the closure,  the environmental impacts and outlook for the site, along with how people in Canton are weathering the closure. We’ll also talk about possible next-lives for the facilities, the stakes for Canton and, perhaps, for people priced-out of Asheville.

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