The Truth About Waste Management GHGs

Transcription

Canada’s magazine on collection, hauling, processing and disposal • April / May 2016
The Truth About Waste
Management GHGs
This issue:
Surrey’s Organic Biogas
Facility
RNG Focus: Municipalities
Start to Close the Loop
Glass Recycling Comes to
Quebec
Textile Recycling - Tip of the
Iceburg
Publications Mail / Agreement
# 40719512
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Contents
APRIL / MAY 2016 | VOLUME 21 | NUMBER 1
COVER STORY
Truth About Waste Management GHGs
12 The
Breakthrough study concludes Ontario waste
Canada’s magazine on collection, hauling, processing, and disposal
management sector is a net reducer of GHG emissions.
12
Climate Change
15 Surrey’s Organic Biogas Facility
North America’s first biogas facility of its kind supplies biogas to the
municipal fleet.
17 RNG Focus: Municipalities Starting to Close the Loop
RNG: a cost-effective and environmentally sound choice for municipalities.
Recycling
18 Spring into Battery Recycling
Take batteries in for recycling at retailers everywhere.
20 Glass Recycling Comes to Quebec
Cutting edge facility brings innovative program to Quebec.
22
22 Textile Diversion - The Tip of the Iceburg
Clean closet, clean conscience, clean earth.
Vehicle Recycling
24 Co-operation Eases the Commodity Crunch
Auto recyclers are resilient, business savvy, and know how to make positive change.
25 Rubber Devulcanization a Game Changer
New process makes tire recycling efficient and effective.
24
26 Battery Recycling on the Rise
Lead-acid battery recycler Terrapure VSC says battery recycling numbers are on the rise.
Departments & Columns
04 From the Editor
06 Letter to the Editor
07 Waste Watch
10WasteExpo
27 Industry Research
29 Regulatory Developments
30 Organic Matters
31Technology
32 Around the World
34 Advertiser Index
32
FROM THE EDITOR
Jessica Kirby, Editor
Solid Waste & Recycling
Canada’s magazine on collection, hauling, processing, and disposal
The SW&R team
Dawn of a new day.
Welcome to the first issue of Solid
Waste & Recycling published by Point
One Media, Inc. When I started with
the company back in 2007, I was
invigorated by the challenge of delving
into new industries full of enthusiastic,
committed individuals who keep the
construction, powersport, and forest
industries in Canada rolling along
smoothly. Taking on SW&R has been
a similar experience, with an exciting,
dynamic new industry to learn and
reams of dedicated people eager to
assist as we embark on this new and
exciting project. Thank you to everyone
who has reached out so far, and if we
haven’t yet met I encourage you to
drop me a line and let me know why
the solid waste and recycling industry
is so important to you.
This issue of SW&R is chock full
of interesting features and columns
covering a myriad topics from climate
change to what to do with spent batteries
and the economics of food waste. The
cover story features a comprehensive
study of Ontario’s waste management
operations and their environmental
impact and contributions. The study
proves
efficient,
conscientious
municipal plans can be positive
environmental contributors with the
capacity to be GHG neutral or better.
The Ontario study results come on the
heels of December’s Climate Change
Conference in Paris, which illustrated
on many levels the role the waste sector
has to play in a carbon neutral economy
and the overall reduction of greenhouse
gases. In fact, contributions by Zero
Waste Europe, the International
4 » Solid Waste & Recycling
Solid Waste Association, and other
stakeholders brought the conference
results – which, in the past have had
mixed reviews on their efficacy and the
degree of their long-term relevance –
into a new and achievable context most
people can sink their teeth into. These
contributions indicated the true impact
of waste management on climate change
has been far and wide understated, and
that top of the chart waste management
strategies – waste prevention, reuse,
recycle, and repurpose – have farreaching capacity to reduce carbon.
But the work is far from over. Waste
management policy provisions and
budgetary allocations need work,
especially while contending with a
fluctuating global commodity market.
Like all things, the cycle will revolve
and innovation will continue to drive
progress, but more than anything, the
emphasis on waste management’s
contribution to climate change brings
the issue home to people who may not
otherwise understand the issues.
The biosolids facility in Surrey,
on page 15, is Canada’s largest of
its kind feeding a municipal fleet
and demonstrates innovative odour
abatement technology, while the section
on vehicle recycling covers the struggles
and opportunities of the Canadian
market in a global context. Many of the
SW&R columnists you know and love
return with meaningful contributions,
and several more are on the docket
for June / July. Until then, enjoy the
issue and please drop me a line with
feedback. I would love to hear from you:
[email protected]. ●●
Lara Perraton, Group Publisher
[email protected]
Jessica Kirby, Editor
877.755.2762 • [email protected]
Christina Tranberg, Advertising Sales
877.755.2762 • [email protected]
contributing writers
Timothy Byrne
Rosalind H. Cooper
Blake Desaulniers
Rick Findlay
Darren Jamison
Stephanie Thorson
Ralph Torrie
Paul van der Werf
Sam Visaisouk
Sabine Weber
cover photo
Charles Jaffe
Published bi-monthly by
Point One Media, Inc.
Solid Waste & Recycling
P.O. Box 11, Station A
Nanaimo, BC V9R 5K4 CANADA
t: 877.755.2762 • www.solidwastemag.com
Solid Waste & Recycling provides strategic
information and perspectives on all aspects
of Canadian solid waste collection, hauling,
processing, and disposal to waste managers,
haulers, recycling co-ordinators, landfill and
compost facility operators, and other waste
industry professionals.
While information contained in this publication
has been compiled from sources deemed to be
reliable, the publisher may not be held liable for
omissions or errors.
Contents ©2016 by Point One Media Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced or duplicated without prior written
permission from the publisher.
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you do not wish your contact information to
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Solid Waste & Recycling is a registered trademark
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Waste to Energy a Winner
Canada’s magazine on collection, hauling, processing and disposal • April / May 2016
The Truth About Waste
Management GHGs
Dear Editor,
This issue:
In “Peeling Away the Layers of Waste
to Energy,” Mr. Rod Muir appears to
have discovered a multitude of false
perceptions that have, for decades,
delayed the application of technology
to convert Canadian residual waste
to renewable energy. But we have to
be realistic and not expect anything
better from the Sierra Club who have
opposed the conversion of waste to
energy for many years. The majority
of well informed SW&R readers will
have a vastly different and constructive
view of the significant environmental
and economic benefits being achieved
by modern waste conversion to energy
facilities around the world. Readers are
invited to compare a small sample of
significant international waste to energy
developments against Mr. Muir’s false
perceptions.
The City of New York recently entered
into a 20-year contract with Covanta
Energy to convert 16 million tons of
residual waste to renewable energy.
The contract includes options for an
extended contract at an increased
volume of waste.
In Amsterdam, planning for the largest
waste to energy facility in the world
received 100 per cent project approval
from the community of this great city.
Annually, the waste to energy plant
converts 1,400,000 metric tonnes of
residual waste to electrical and thermal
energy, recovers and recycles trapped
metals, and processes all ash residue
into high quality construction products.
The facility also converts sewage plant
by-products into renewable energy. The
combined energy output (electrical and
thermal) approaches 300 megawatts.
Holland is currently served by eight
waste to energy facilities.
Norway’s Oslo, with a population of
over 650,000, has declared it is now
fossil fuel-free thanks to the conversion
of post-recycled waste to renewable
energy. Norway claims the entire
country will be fossil fuel-free in five
years.
The huge Brescia waste to energy
plant in Italy provides almost all of
the electrical and thermal needs of
the inner city. The Brescia facility
was recently honoured by Columbia
University’s Waste to Energy Research
and Technology Council (WTERT) as
the finest waste to energy plant in the
world.
A recent study of the waste to energy
industry in China, published by The
Economist in May 2015, identifies
180 waste to energy facilities online
and over 70 new facilities under
construction. For example, the city of
Laogang has sufficient waste to energy
capacity to process 9000 metric tonnes
of residual waste per day. The combined
renewable energy (electrical and
thermal) output of their waste to energy
plants approaches 750 megawatts.
Rest assured that Peel Region will
return to their well researched,
excellent long range waste to energy
plan when the cost and complexity of
achieving a 75 per cent diversion target
is objectively analyzed. The waste
management professionals in Peel
Region are well aware that the post
closure contaminating lifecycle of a
landfill exceeds 200 years with ongoing
financial liabilities.
Hats off to Mr. John Nicholson when he
concluded his excellent SW&R article
under the title, “A WTE Tale of Two
Cities” with, “If you do not like the
waste to energy process, what do you
like?”
Surrey’s Organic Biogas
Facility
RNG Focus: Municipalities
Start to Close the Loop
Glass Recycling Comes to
Quebec
Textile Recycling - Tip of the
Iceburg
Publications Mail / Agreement
# 40719512
Next Issue
Features:
• Construction Waste
• Hazardous Materials
Product Showcase:
• Bags, Bins, Carts,
Recycling Compactors
• Landfill Liners
• Compactor Technology
Ad booking: May 19
Artwork due: May 24
Meet our Team
Christina Tranberg
Jessica Kirby
Yours truly
Ed. K. McLellan
Peterborough, Ontario
Lara Perraton
WASTE WATCH
EcoVision
Environmental
Launches a
SmartSolar Powered
Compacting Bin for
North America
Since its start nearly two years ago,
EcoVision Environmental has stayed
true to its goal of helping communities
and businesses reach their waste
diversion goals by partnering with them
to develop successful programs.
One area that is growing is public space
bins and so we are excited to launch
a new product called the EcoClean
Cube manufactured by Ecube Labs. It
is a solar-powered waste compacting
bin ideal for communities looking for
a smart clean way to handle its public
space waste and recycling bins that
compacts up to eight times the volume.
It comes with all the features needed
including fill detection and reporting,
routing software, and a host of safety
features.
Maren ProPAK Balers
Available in Canada
They also use standard wheeled carts
that can be emptied with a cart tipper
eliminating the concern about injuries
and strains from manual lifting. http://
ecovisionenvironmental.com/product/
ecocleancube/.
EcoVision Environmental has a vast
network of consultants and industry
experts available when needed to help
its customers. EcoVision is committed
to achieving the triple bottom line and
has strategically set-up distribution
points in Canada and the US. EcoVision
Environmental is the trade name for
Impact EcoVision Environmental Inc.
For more information please call Doug
Hill at 289.987.4567, email at doug@
ecovisionenvironmental.com, or visit
www.ecovisionenvironmental.com. ●●
Kernic Systems a distributor of Maren
Balers in Canada for over 30 years
now offers the full line of Maren
ProPAK Series Balers to the Recycling
Community. For more than 50 years
Maren continues to set the pace for
baling both commercial by-products
and post-consumer recyclables. The
ProPAK line of closed door full-eject
and two-ram balers are ideally suited
for Used Beverage Containers and
PET bottles, but also provide perfect
solutions for baling many plastics, fiber,
non-ferrous, steel cans and more. The
ProPAK Series Balers where developed
Kernic Systems is your Canadian Representative for Maren Balers and
BOA Recycling Equipment, with over 35 years servicing the Canadian
Market for Baling Systems. No matter what your baling equipment
needs … Kernic Systems has you covered!
KERNIC SYSTEMS OFFERS YOU: Turn Key Baling Systems,
Engineering Design, Installation, Service & Parts
Air Systems • Dust Collectors • Balers • Shredders • Wire Sales • Parts & Service
www.kernicsystems.com • 800-678-9516 • [email protected]
solidwastemag.com » April / May 2016 » 7
WASTE WATCH
specifically
with
post-consumer
recycling in mind and offer the highest
material throughput in their class. The
operator friendly touch screen control
system (French & English) available on
most models, provides feedback about
key factors including amount of bale
left before tie-off, and instructs the user
in the steps to tie off the bale, eject it and
ready the machine for the next bale or
material. ●●
BHS Grows Sales
Team & Invests in Test
Facilities
Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) has
announced a new organizational
structure to its North American sales
team, adding three new hires and
promoting a veteran employee. The
company’s new Separation Technology
Specialists (STS) will focus on
applications of core solutions including
BHS Tri-Disc™ screens, Nihot air
density products, and NRT In-Flight
Sorting® optical sorters.
“Despite 2015’s headwind of declining
commodity prices, demand for proven
and well-supported products helped
BHS achieve our strongest sales in
company history,” said BHS director of
sales, Ted Pierpont. “We’re investing to
ensure this continues.”
In support of this initiative, BHS is
making capital investments in sample
material testing and demonstration
systems at two US locations: BHS
headquarters in Eugene, OR and NRT
headquarters in Nashville, TN.
The all-new STS Team consists of
Travis Curtis, Randy Roy, and Richard
Sweet. Curtis, having been at BHS
subsidiary NRT since 2014, joins BHS
to cover the Southeast & Central US.
Roy, newly hired to BHS, will cover the
Northeastern US and Eastern Canada.
Richard Sweet, promoted from within
to the position of senior applications
engineer, will cover the Northwestern
US and Western Canada and be
responsible for continuous technical
training for the entire BHS salesforce.
For more information please visit
bulkhandlingsystems.com. ●●
Get your Idea in Gear
The Automotive Recyclers of Canada
(ARC) has partnered with Scout
Environmental (formerly Summerhill
Impact) to offer granting initiative,
Grants in Gear, for a third year. The
nation-wide program will provide
funding worth up to $100,000 to
Canadian environmental non-profit and
entrepreneurial groups and municipal/
regional governmental bodies.
INVITATION FOR OFFERS TO PURCHASE
RECYCLING FACILITIES
Oshawa, Ontario
Rosen Goldberg Inc., in its capacity as Court-appointed receiver of the assets, undertaking, and property of
Northwood Recycling & Energy Limited et al. (the “Assets”), invites written offers for the purchase of certain of the
Assets as described below:
• A waste transfer station operating under a valid Environmental Compliance Approval issued by the Ministry of
the Environment and Climate Change;
• A source-separated organic composting facility operating under a valid Environmental Compliance Approval
issued by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change;
• Approximately 16 acres of land in Oshawa, Ontario upon which the waste transfer station and source-separated
organic composting facility operate; and,
• Approximately 50 acres of agricultural land abutting the waste transfer and composting facilities.
The deadline for written offers to purchase the Assets is 3:00 pm EST on Friday, May 20, 2016. The highest or any
offer need not be accepted by the Receiver. The Receiver retains the right to sell the Assets prior to this date.
Interested parties should contact Joel Ross at (416) 224-4220 or by email at [email protected] to obtain
additional information and/or to make an appointment to view the sites.
For additional information on the proceedings, please visit www.rosengoldberg.com.
Rosen Goldberg Inc. • 5255 Yonge Street, Suite 804 Toronto, ON M2N 6P4
WASTE WATCH
To date, Grants in Gear has funded
eight organizations across Canada
working to achieve measurable impact
for the environment through their
winning ideas. ARC is excited to
extend this opportunity to four more
organizations whose project ideas
seek tangible results in emissions
reduction or pollution prevention in
the transportation sector or automotive
recycling or reuse excellence.
We welcome eligible organizations
of all sizes who seek to make a
positive environmental impact on the
automotive industry. This year, ARC
will disburse up to four grants worth
a maximum of $25,000 each with
one grant being offered as an optional
legacy grant. This will allow previous
winners to apply for additional funding
to increase the capacity of their existing
program.
New SWANA Safety
Resource Gives 5 Tips
to Stay Alive
Among the Solid Waste Association
of North America (SWANA)’s goals
for the future is making sure the
waste industry moves off the federal
government’s list of the top dangerous
jobs in the United States. With this
mission in mind, SWANA developed a
new safety campaign that gives waste
collection employees five tips to stay
safe and alive on the job.
Five Tips to Stay Alive provides a
useful set of guidelines – including a
reference to an ANSI Safety Standard
that states collection workers should
not ride on the step of a garbage truck
if the truck is backing or going more
than 10 miles per hour – which waste
collection workers should follow to
reduce accidents and injuries on the job.
continued on page 34
Applications will be accepted from
March 25 to May 6, 2016. For more
information or to download an
application form, please visit http://
autorecyclers.ca/grants-in-gearfunding/ ●●
Van Dyk Recycling
Solutions Welcomes
Adam Lovewell
as Midwest Sales
Engineer
Adam has an engineering degree from
Virginia Tech and he comes to Van Dyk
from RRT Design and Construction. He spent four years at RRT as a processing engineer and project manager
for multiple recycling sorting system
projects.
Please feel free to contact Adam
immediately for all of your recycling
equipment needs. Adam can be reached
at (312)543-6998 or alovewell@vdrs.
com. ●●
WASTE EXPO
Are you ready to learn
from (and network
with) the top minds in
the waste, recycling,
and organics industry?
Everyone’s talking about
WasteExpo 2016, June 6-9,
Las Vegas, NV
WasteExpo is the largest waste,
recycling, and organics tradeshow/
conference in North America—and it’s
been going strong for 48 years. The
event brings together all the top players
and experts in the field, from the public
and private sectors as well as academia.
Featuring robust educational sessions
and an environment that fosters
business, it’s your best opportunity of
the year for professional growth.
Come and visit
the Solid Waste
& Recycling team
at Waste Expo in
June.
Booth # 5605
We’re happy to give you a sneak peek
of this year’s top-notch educational
program, built in conjunction with
the National Waste & Recycling
Association (NWRA) and Dr. Stuart
Buckner, former director of the US
Composting Council—it’s going to be
more robust and interactive than ever
before. This conference program will
give you the tools you need to do your
job better and insights to last long after
the event.
Learning tracks include:
• Composting & Organics—bigger and
better than ever
• Fleet and Equipment Technology
• Food Recovery Forum—new this
year
• Hauling
• Leadership /Business Development/
Finance
• Legislative/Regulatory
• Landfill Technologies
• Recycling/Resource Recovery
• Safety
You’ll hear from speakers from the
following organizations:
• Heil, Mack Trucks, Winter Brothers
Waste Systems, Marin Sanitary
Service, Comerica Bank; UC
Davis Policy Institute for Energy,
Environment and the Economy;
Wegmans Food Markets, Impact
Bioenergy, Waste Pro USA, the
Cleveland Browns, the Grocery
Manufacturers Association, Nestle
USA, the US EPA, and many more.
• WasteExpo is a veritable solid waste,
recycling, and organics industry
reunion; you’ll make new connections
and reconnect with peers. Also, you’ll
want to check out the special events
including: the EREF Charitable
Auction, NWRA Awards breakfast,
Welcome Reception, a site tour,
and much more. Finally, visit the
industry’s largest exhibit hall and meet
600 of today’s top solution providers.
• In other words—WasteExpo 2016 is
worth talking about! So, set yourself
up for success, and get ready to join
13,000 of your industry peers and
experts in Las Vegas from June 6-9,
2016.
Plus, Solid Waste & Recycling readers
save. Simply use code VP26 when
registering.
See the full conference agenda and
register today at wasteexpo.com. ●●
FACT: 96% of attendees
would recommend WasteExpo
to a colleague!
“YOU’LL SEE
REPRESENTATION
FROM ALL OF THE
PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES SERVING
THIS INDUSTRY AT
WASTE EXPO!”
Jody Howard
Solid Waste & Recycling Readers Save!
Register at www.wasteexpo.com with
code VP26 today!
PEOPLE ARE TALKING MANUFACTURING
Big product launches need a big stage in order to be successful. And there’s none bigger
than WasteExpo. It’s why savvy marketers and waste professionals make it their business
to be here. With nearly 600 exhibitors, a comprehensive education program and a venue
ideal for doing business—you can see why exhibitors and attendees come back year after
year. That says it all. For more information go to www.wasteexpo.com
Conferences & Special Events: June 6-9, 2016 • Exhibits: June 7-9, 2016
Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, NV USA
Associated with:
Produced by:
In Collaboration wIth:
General Manager
Industrial & Waste Group
Caterpillar
CLIMATE CHANGE
The Truth About
Waste Management GHGs
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / hroephoto
By / Ralph Torrie
THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY
SEEM, and this old saying is certainly
true when it comes to the impact
of the waste management industry
on greenhouse gas emissions. The
official inventory of Canada’s 726 Mt
of greenhouse gas emissions in 2013
leaves the impression that the waste
management industry contributes a
modest 3.4 per cent, almost all in the
form of landfill methane emissions,
but with small contributions from the
tailpipe emissions of the industry’s
truck fleet, the stack emissions from
the Energy from Waste (EfW) plants,
and the industry’s other uses of fuel
and electricity. What the “emissions
inventory perspective” does not show
are the much greater emissions that are
eliminated when wastes are diverted
from landfills to composting, anaerobic
digesters, recycling, and yes, even to
EfW facilities.
At the request of the Ontario Waste
Management
Association,
we
conducted a quantitative analysis of
these emission-reducing activities for
the case of Ontario1, but the bottom-line
conclusion would be the same in any
part of Canada: the waste management
industry is a net reducer of greenhouse
emissions. Here is how the numbers
break down for Ontario:
• In 2013, Ontario landfills generated
over 12.25 Mt CO2eq of methane,2
but 4 Mt CO2eq was collected and
either flared at the landfill or burned
in a nearby power plant, leaving net
emissions at 8.25 Mt CO2eq.
•
Refuse collection trucks are among
the most energy intensive vehicles on
the road, but total emissions from the
thousands of collection and long haul
waste transport trucks operated by the
Ontario waste management industry
totals less than half a Mt CO2eq,
20 times smaller than the landfill
methane emissions.
• Greenhouse gas emissions from the
other fuel and electricity consumed by
the industry’s facilities and equipment
are 10 times smaller than the emissions
from the truck fleet, totalling less than
0.04 Mt CO2eq.
• Emissions from the plastics and other
synthetic carbon-based materials
processed in EfW facilities were only
0.05 Mt CO2eq, but these emissions
are more than offset by the landfill
methane emissions that are foregone
by diverting material to EfW.
This brings us to the other side of
the ledger, the ways in which the
waste management industry reduces
greenhouse gas emissions:
•
By the far the largest emission
reduction impact of the waste
management industry results from
recycling. A number of key materials
(steel, aluminum, metals, glass, plastic,
paper products) can be manufactured
from recycled inputs with much less
CLIMATE CHANGE
Diagram courtesy of Ralph Torrie.
energy than it takes to make them
from virgin raw material, and these
energy savings translate directly into
greenhouse gas reductions. For paper
products, recycling yields additional
emission reductions at the landfill
(less methane from decaying paper)
and in the forest (fewer trees need to
be cut to provide raw material to the
paper mills). In Ontario in 2013, it all
adds up to 14.6 Mt CO2eq.
•
Landfills are not only sources of
methane gas; they are also carbon
sinks. A portion of the paper products
and yard wastes buried in landfills
does not decay and the carbon remains
sequestered for decades—carbon that
would otherwise be released to the
atmosphere as methane or carbon
dioxide. Of the Ontario wastes
landfilled in 2013, we estimate 2.15
Mt CO2eq of carbon will remain
sequestered.
• Diverting food wastes and yard wastes
from landfills reduces the future
stream of methane emissions that
these materials would have generated.
Even after allowing for the fact that
a portion of this diverted material
would have remained sequestered
in the landfill, organics diversion
in Ontario in 2013 (to composters,
digesters, EfW facilities) eliminated
1.6 Mt CO2eq of future landfill
methane emissions.
The bottom line? The waste
management industry is a major
contributor to curbing greenhouse gas
emissions; its annual contribution to
reducing greenhouse gas emissions is at
least 20 times larger than the emissions
from the trucks and other equipment it
uses to achieve this result. Every year,
the Ontario waste management industry
reduces current and future greenhouse
gas emissions by 22 million tonnes
CO2eq, 14 Mt CO2eq more than the 8
Mt CO2eq of landfill gas emissions
from the legacy waste-in-place in all
Ontario landfills. Even so, landfill gas
capture, recycling, and organic waste
“The waste management
industry is a major
contributor to curbing
greenhouse gas
emissions; its annual
contribution to reducing
greenhouse gas emissions
is at least 20 times larger
than the emissions from
the trucks and other
equipment it uses to
achieve this result.”
diversion rates are still relatively low,
suggesting significant growth potential
still exists for the industry to support
the province’s ambitious greenhouse
gas emission targets, a finding that will
be equally true in other provinces.
In Ontario, with its proposed capand-trade approach, priorities include
the creation of offset protocols that
facilitate growth in landfill gas capture
CLIMATE CHANGE
Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks from Waste Management Alternatives. Image courtesy of ICF International, “Solid Waste Management
and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks, 3rd Edition,” for the US EPA, 2006.
and organics diversion, partnerships
with capped emitters who will value the
carbon-free energy generated at waste
management facilities, investment in
efficiency and low carbon alternatives
in internal operations, and creative
partnerships with government for the
direct investment of allowance auction
revenue in building the foundation for
the circular economy.
As climate change moves up the policy
priority list everywhere, innovative
approaches will be needed to ensure key
outcomes from the waste management
industry include:
• broader coverage and more efficient
technology for landfill gas capture;
• increased rates of recycling of organic
diversion to composting, digestion,
and EfW facilities (see box for
Alberta’s innovative approach for
including recycling in their carbon
offset system);
• capture and cleaning of gases from
landfills, digesters, and EfW facilities
for injection in to the natural gas
pipeline system; and,
• increased value for direct use of gases
from landfills, digesters, and EfW
facilities.
There is a strong complementarity
between the aspirations of the waste
management industry and government
goals for climate change mitigation,
a circular economy and sustainable
economic development. With forward
looking and innovative strategies, the
waste management industry will find
ample opportunity for growth and
development in the transition that lies
ahead. ●●
Ralph Torrie is an energy systems expert with
a longstanding interest in the connections
between waste management and climate
change. Contact at [email protected].
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / bosphorus
ALBERTA PROTOCOL SUMMARY
The Recycling Council of
Alberta has developed a GHG
Protocol for Recycling under the
Alberta Specified Gas Emitters
Regulation.
The
protocol
methodology quantifies GHG
emission reductions resulting
from the substitution of recycled
feedstock for virgin feedstock,
using defined emission factors
that represent the difference in
lifecycle GHG emissions. For more
information, contact Christina
Seidel, Alberta Recycling Council,
at [email protected].
CLIMATE CHANGE
Surrey’s Organic
Biogas Facility
By / Jessica Kirby
images courtesy of Orgaworld
The 154,171-square-foot Organic Biogas
Facility using dry anaerobic digestion in
Surrey is currently under construction
on its 6.6-acre site adjacent to the Surrey
transfer station in Port Kells.
A P3 project between the City of Surrey
and developer Orgaworld, the Surrey
facility will process approximately
115,000 tonnes of organic waste each
year, which is almost double the current
city’s annual green-waste output of
62,000 tonnes.
It will collect and turn food scraps and
yard waste into as many as 160,000
gigajoules of natural gas and up to
40,000 tonnes of compost annually.
Biogas created at the facility will be used
to run the City of Surrey’s vehicle fleet,
making it the largest in North America to
power a municipal fleet.
“The facility will process separated
organics—it collects them, and converts
them into biogas, which is then upgraded
into biomethane and injected into the
Fortis grid,” said project manager with
Orgaworld, Ryan Lauzon.
“The gas is injected in to the Fortis grid
and they off-take a similar amount to run
the trucks. They run it to multiple places
and use a representative amount based
on what it produces.”
The facility’s functionality is divided –
half is designed for anaerobic digestion
and half for composting – with the
ultimate goal of producing biomethane
for the City of Surrey.
Biomethane produced at the facility is
considered carbon neutral because it
is generated by food waste, rather than
extracted from the ground.
A key feature is the facility’s odor
abatement system, which keeps the
CLIMATE CHANGE
Treated
Air
Ammonium
Sulphate (fertilizer)
A powerful air filtration system
ensures the facility remains under
constant negative pressure.
Water Solution
An ammonia scrubber is used to treat
the facility air prior to being passed to
the biofilter. Odour rich ammonia is
removed and the product, ammonium
sulphate, can be used as a fertilizer.
Discharge
Air
Internal air is then passed through
biofilters. Each biofilter contains wood
material which is sprayed with water to
optimize natural biological processes scrubbing the air prior to disperson.
Mixer
Organic
Waste
Processing
entire building under negative pressure,
and is very comprehensive. “Unlike
other facilities, odour abatement forms
the core of the process,” he said. “It
is a multistage system which reduces
odours so everything that leaves the
70-meter stack is without offensive
odour.”
The facility’s technology comes from
Europe which has challenged the crews
in terms of co-ordination and ensuring
North American standards are met.
A key challenge was integrating the
building’s ventilation system into
the facility’s complex processes.
Everything was tied in with process
engineering as the build continued to
evolve to better promote each process.
The composting process, for instance,
modulates the amount of airflow
through the building, ensuring the
building is kept under suction. With the building in constant negative
pressure, the composting system uses
internal air to flow oxygen into tunnels,
which use fresh and internal air to
supply the ventilation.
The filtered air is released through
the stack at 70 metres to ensure
optimal natural dispersion.
Driving Aisle /
Screening Area
Ammonia
Scrubber
Receiving
Area
70 metres
Percolating
Water
Air
+
Ammonia
(Nh3)
Biofilters
Stack
Every
step
requires
careful
consideration of the inside environment
and how wastes and liquids move
throughout the building.
The building’s construction re
quires a number of interesting techniques
including ground improvement work
using rapid impact compaction (RIC)
to prepare for footings.
An impact plate is struck repeatedly
with a hydraulic hammer to densify
loose, granular soils. This improves
density and stability on the site and
minimizes settlement.
The structure’s frame uses hot dipped
galvanized or stainless steel trusses to
achieve the wide spans required by the
large footprint.
The exterior of the building is made of
tilt-up panels and have been cast in beds
on site—a faster and more efficient
method that can significantly reduce
the overall schedule. Our General
Contractor Smith Bros & Wilson
has a long history using this style of
construction.
The City broke the mold on conventional
exterior aesthetics, moving away from
minimized, neutral tones to a bright,
welcoming colour scheme intended to
make the building a landmark.
“Usually these buildings are minimized,
but the City wanted to make this a
showpiece,” said Lauzon.
Currently, organic waste is shipped to
a smaller facility in Richmond with
approximately one quarter the Surrey
facility’s planned digestion capacity.
When complete, the facility will reduce
Co2 emissions in Surrey by 40,000
tonnes a year—the equivalent of taking
8,500 cars off the road each year. It will
produce over 3,000,000 cubic meters of
renewable biomethane—sufficient to
supply roughly 1,500 homes.
This type of project is scalable, and
a real possibility in any major North
American centre, said Lauzon.
“This is absolutely the way of the
future for organic waste facilities,” he
says. “This facility is just the tip of
the iceberg for North America. We are
seeing lots of tenders and RFPs in the
organic waste industry.” ●●
CLIMATE CHANGE
RNG Focus:
Municipalities Starting to Close the Loop
By / Stephanie Thorson
Canadian Biogas Association
AS MUNICIPALITIES LOOK AT RECYCLING
their organic materials from source
separated organics and wastewater
treatment, increasingly, renewable
natural gas (RNG) is the end product
they choose to generate—and with
good reason. RNG can be used to
fuel fleets, including waste trucks
and transit vehicles, and dramatically
slash greenhouse gas emissions,
which is particularly challenging in
the transportation sector. Hamilton,
London, Toronto, Peel, and Niagara are
all well down the path of implementing
or examining this option.
In fact, 10 per cent of our natural gas
supply could come from RNG by 2030
if supportive policies were put in place.
The Canadian Gas Association’s RNG
Technology Roadmap contains data on
the potential, and recommendations for
policy makers and industry.
Closing the Loop, a collaborative
initiative of the Biogas Association, can
help municipalities in two ways. First,
organic waste can be sent to existing
biogas facilities or municipally-owned
biogas systems. This enables food
waste to be recycled back to the soil,
while extracting the energy content
of the material first, and turning it
into clean, renewable energy. This
simple and cost-effective action
results in impressive greenhouse gas
reductions. Second, fleet operators can
consider using a blend of conventional
compressed natural gas (CNG) and
renewable natural gas – which comes
from food recycling – for their trucking
needs. A 90/10 per cent blend of CNG
and RNG provides a reduction of over
31 per cent of greenhouse gases, and
financial savings over diesel fuel.
RNG Facts to Consider
• Transportation is the largest contributor
of GHGs in Ontario, at 34%
Image courtesy of Canadian Biogas Association
•
From 1990 to 2012, transportation
GHGs increased by 24%
• Switching to CNG from diesel reduces
GHGs by up to 30%
• RNG can be a carbon negative fuel,
reducing GHGs by up to 170%,
according to the California Air
Resources Board
Across the country, progressive
municipalities are taking important
sustainability steps by generating and
using RNG. Surrey, British Columbia,
is a recognized leader in reducing
emissions from waste generated within
the municipality, and has created a
closed-loop waste solution. Surrey will
generate RNG at its anaerobic digestion
facility and use it to fuel waste trucks
picking up the organic waste. The
business case was built comparing
RNG to diesel prices and the facility is
a public-private partnership.
In Niagara, Ontario, the region is
planning to upgrade the biogas from its
wastewater treatment plant to RNG, and
fuel city vehicles. The City of London,
Ontario, is looking at collecting green
bin waste and using it to fuel vehicles.
The City of Hamilton already uses
RNG from its wastewater treatment
facility to fuel transit vehicles, and uses
the natural gas pipeline to transport
the fuel from the plant to the vehicle
fueling site.
South of the border, Redeem is a
branded RNG fuel by Clean Energy
Fuels that is available across the US
to natural gas vehicle fleets including
heavy-duty trucks, refuse trucks,
airport shuttles, taxis, and buses. The
RNG comes from waste streams such
as landfills, large dairies, and sewage
plants.
Thousands of cars, taxis, shuttles, and
industrial fleets in California are now
using Redeem, which is up to 90 per
cent cleaner than diesel and 100%
renewable. A southwest Ontario farmbased RNG project is in development
that will supply several truck fleets,
including milk trucks, and could supply
several more.
For more information, and to learn how
to close the loop, contact sthorson@
biogasassociation.ca. ●●
ADVERTORIAL
RECYCLING
Springing into
Battery Recycling
Spring is here, and many Canadians
will soon start the annual cleaning
process that sees rooms decluttered,
dusty corners cleaned out, and old
items discarded for new.
One common household item that
should not be overlooked during the
spring cleaning ritual is used batteries.
Batteries power our cellphones, laptops,
cameras, power tools, children’s toys,
and even start our cars and boats! Yet
many Canadians are unsure of what
to do with those batteries when they
reach the end of their usefulness. The
answer—and process—is simple:
Recycle them.
Call2Recycle (call2recycle.ca) and
the Canadian Battery Association
(recyclemybattery.ca) operate National
Stewardship programs for the recycling
of single use, rechargeable, and leadacid batteries. Both programs will
recycle your used batteries to federal
and provincial standards.
Thousands of Canadians will soon head
to retailers to get spring cleaning items,
tools, and ideas for summer projects.
When they do so, they can also drop off
any used household batteries that weigh
less than 5 kg in a Call2Recycle box at
most retailers or at their local municipal
depot. Many of these organizations
partner with Call2Recycle, Canada’s
oldest and largest battery and cellphone
recycling organization, to offer free
battery and cellphone recycling for
their customers, visitors, and staff.
Used lead-acid batteries from cars,
boats, and lawnmowers can be dropped
at a mechanical repair shop like
Canadian Tire or Kal Tire.
The retailers’ battery recycling
programs are part of their commitment
to reduce pollutants entering our
environment. These organizations offer
a simple yet robust recycling program,
in which people simply drop off their
used batteries and cellphones in the
recycling boxes and Call2Recycle takes
care of the rest. Batteries collected
through the program are diverted
from landfills – where they could
pose a danger to the environment –
and reclaimed for use in new batteries,
cookware, appliances, and hardware.
“Our partners’ environmental programs
prove that they are fully committed
to sustainability,” says Joe Zenobio,
executive
director,
Call2Recycle
Canada, Inc. “We are proud to partner
with organizations that share our vision
for safer, cleaner communities.”
As more partners join the free
Call2Recycle and CBA battery
recycling programs, Canadians will be
able to divert more and more batteries
from landfills—and our homes won’t be
the only thing cleaner each spring. ●●
About Call2Recycle Canada, Inc. Call2Recycle Canada, Inc. (Call2Recycle) is
a premier product stewardship organization
dedicated to minimizing the environmental
impact of products in the marketplace.
Operating across Canada and the U.S.,
its marquee battery recycling program,
Call2Recycle®, is the oldest and largest
consumer battery stewardship program,
collecting and recycling batteries from
retailers,
municipalities,
businesses,
and consumers through its network of
8,000 collection sites in Canada. Since
1996, more than 45 million kilograms of
household batteries and cellphones have
been diverted from the solid waste stream
in North America. Learn more or find a
drop-off site for household batteries under
5 kg near you at call2recycle.ca or by
calling 1.888.224.9764. Recycle and win this
Spring: www.call2recycle.ca/springcleaning
About the Canadian Battery
Association
The CBA is the national voice for the leadacid battery industry. Its mission is to provide
information and programs that support the
safe storage, transportation, and recycling
of lead-acid batteries from coast to coast to
coast. The CBA operates formal stewardship
programs in PEI, New Brunswick, Manitoba,
and BC, as well as informal stewardship
programs in the remaining provinces.
With this reach, CBA members turn more
than 110 million kilograms of lead-acid
batteries every year into new lead-acid
batteries. For more information about
the stewardship of lead-acid batteries in
Canada or to find a depot near you that will
responsibly recycle lead-acid batteries go to
www.recyclemybattery.ca.
CBA Stewardship Program
The Canadian Battery Association (CBA) has operated a Stewardship Program in Canada since 2011. Every year, there are over 140 million kg of leadacid batteries (LABs) sold in Canada and CBA’s members account for more than 90% of them. The CBA’s Stewardship Program provides for a returnto-retail recovery program for consumer (ie; automotive) batteries and a business-to-business recovery program for motive and stationary batteries.
Recovered batteries will be transported to warehouse locations operated by CBA members using a reverse-distribution system and then the waste
batteries will be bulk transported to smelters for recycling and manufacturing into new batteries. For more information about the CBA and its members,
go to www.canadianbatteryassociation.ca.
SPRING INTO
BATTERY RECYCLING!
Get ready for Spring Cleaning.
It’s time to get rid of the winter cobwebs! As shopping begins for
spring cleaning products and home items, it’s a nice time to remind
all to properly dispose of old or unused items and to recycle
spent batteries to help protect the budding environment.
Fresh Tips
Get furnaces and other natural gas
appliances inspected
Check batteries in carbon monoxide
detectors and smoke alarms
Recycle batteries* from appliances
and products with Call2Recycle
Enter Call2Recycle’s Spring Cleaning contest
to win prizes from March 20th to May 20th
* Always cover terminals of used Lithium and Small
Sealed Lead Acid (SSLA) batteries with tape
Leap into Action!
Visit call2recycle.ca/springcleaning
to download contest posters, digital ads and
social media posts to help spread the word.
Call2Recycle® has been providing battery recycling
solutions since 1997.
Enroll in our program today.
Visit call2recycle.ca | Call 1-877-2-RECYCLE
Recharging the planet. Recycling your batteries.™
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / kostatriton
RECYCLING
Glass Recycling
Comes to Quebec
by Blake Desaulniers
QUEBEC’S NEWEST RECYCLING INITIATIVE
will strengthen and expand the
province’s curbside glass program and
provide a stream of high quality recycled
glass for secondary processing and for
use in a growing range of commercial
products. The new program, announced
in 2015, will ensure 100 per cent of the
glass in Quebec goes to recycling.
Under the auspices of Éco Enterprises
Quebec, the Innovative Glass Works
Plan will direct an initial $6.7 million to
modernize sorting centres and develop
new market outlets for recycled glass.
As part of the plan implementation,
ÉEQ established a partnership with
British
Manufacturer
Krysteline
Technologies and with Quebecbased equipment provider Machinex,
the North American distributor for
Krysteline.
ÉEQ is now in the process of reviewing
applications from 24 sorting centres
in the province, and will select
several locations to conduct initial
demonstration projects.
“We think five or six locations will be
ideal,” said Karine Moreau, marketing
manager for Machinex. “We need to
look at a number of factors, including
proximity to downstream markets and
new buyers,” she said.
The new program evolved from a 2013
crisis in glass recycling in Quebec,
brought about when demand for
mineral wool dropped, the main glass
conditioner Klareco shut down, and a
period of under-investment in recycling
facilities and glass processing all
coincided.
In response, in January 2015, ÉEQ
conducted a forum on curbside
recycling optimization, and developed
a vision for the creation of the best
performing curbside recycling program
in North America. Over the course
of the spring and into early summer
last year, ÉEQ carried out extensive
analysis before announcing its intention
to invest up to $40 million to achieve
the goal.
During the last three months of 2015,
ÉEQ evaluated a range of technology
solutions and eventually selected the
Krysteline system.
The Krysteline Technologies system
uses an innovative implosion method
to transform glass into small fragments.
The instantaneous implosion happens
without shredding labels or capsules,
making sorting easier. The method
costs less to maintain and uses less
energy than the conventional grinding
process. Additionally, the edges of the
RECYCLING
“To optimize its
investment in
the Glass Works
Plan, ÉEQ is also
looking to develop
downstream markets
for the recycled
product.”
imploded glass particles are rounded,
not sharp.
“The technology that we have
developed specifically addresses the
challenges of curbside recycling in
Quebec, which are similar to those
in Great Britain and Australia, where
the same technology has been used
successfully for several years,” said
Steve Whettingsteel, managing director
of Krysteline Technologies.
To optimize its investment in the Glass
Works Plan, ÉEQ is also looking to
develop downstream markets for the
recycled product. At present, recycled
glass finds a home in a range of uses
including as an additive to cement
products used in sidewalks, roads,
flooring, acoustic walls, and street
furniture.
Superior water filtration materials,
bituminous mixtures or asphalt, mineral
wool, abrasives, fillers, mulch, glass
bottles, and a FIFA accredited sport turf
are other products than can be made
from high quality recycled glass.
Saul Polo, parliamentary assistant to the
Minister of the Economy, Innovation
and Exports. “These initiatives will
without a doubt contribute to Quebec
businesses’ reputation of excellence
beyond our borders.”
As part of its plan, ÉEQ intends to
provide $1.2 million in financial support
for development and diversification of
market outlets for recycled glass.
Both Machinex and Krsyteline bring
considerable experience to the table.
An initial demonstration period is
expected to last 15 months. The process
will involve testing new glass sorting
and cleaning equipment to complement
the proven technologies of Krysteline
Technologies and Machinex already
selected for the demonstration projects.
ÉEQ is now accepting applications
from sorting centres. Interested parties
may apply online at the ÉEQ website at
www.ecoentreprises.qc.ca/glass.
“In the battle against climate change,
the implementation of government
strategies to develop a green economy in
Quebec and the pursuit of environmental
innovation, the Government of Quebec
salutes the contributing companies
involved in the implementation of the
Innovative Glass Works Plan,” said
In the1980s Machinex became the
first company in Canada to design
machinery for material recycling
facilities. The company has designed
and installed more than 250 turnkey
projects in Canada, the United States,
and Northern Europe.
Krysteline, based in Great Britain, has
more than two decades of experience
building implosion systems to handle
a wide range a materials including
glass, ceramics, minerals, ore, and
slags. Krysteline systems can recover
and refine 100 percent of feedstock to
meet the specific needs of downstream
customers.
More information can be found on the
ÉEQ website at www.ecoentreprises.
qc.ca/glass ●●
Glass can be integrated with ecological
flagstones made from 100 per
cent recycled materials. Gaudreau
Environnement,
a
Quebec-based
company, sells tile product under the
name Regeneration. The tiles comprise
75 per cent glass, 20 per cent plastic
bags, and 5 per cent porcelain.
Recycled glass can be used to make
cellular glass, a pumice-like material
used in construction. It offers fireretardant and insulation properties in a
lightweight form. It’s also a high valueadded product.
This is a 3Dlayout of a medium system type for glass recycling in a MRF. Image courtesy of Machinex.
RECYCLING
Textile Diversion -
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / NomadSoul1
The Tip of the Iceberg
by / Sabine Weber
WHILE PERFORMING THE ANNUAL SPRING
CLEANUP of our family’s overstuffed
closets, sorting clothes into piles – to
keep, to donate – I notice the biggest
pile includes all those garments that
will go to the garbage disposal because
they aren’t good enough for donations
and nobody would want to wear them.
Those too-ripped jeans, that cheap
sweater, which lost its colour after a
few washes, the T-shirt with stains,
my husband’s jacket with the broken
zipper, socks that are more holes than
material, underwear. I already have
more material than I need for my
cleaning rags but I’m horrified by the
size of the garbage pile. I feel guilty for
all the money I spent. I want the relief of
an empty closet—if only so I can begin
to fill it again. I want to be done with
this horrible work. While I’m freaking
out, my ten-year-old son reminds me,
“Mum, we are normal people!” He may
be right. This consumption and waste
may be comparable to the average
Canadian, who does not see donation
as a means of recycling unwanted
textiles, but looking at that huge pile
“...estimates put the collecting, reusing and recycling of all unwanted
garments at 15 per cent, the tip of a colossal iceberg that sees the
remaining 85 per cent ending up in landfill.”
I tell myself that even if it’s normal, it
doesn’t make it right.
Over the last 40 years, clothing
consumption has steadily increased
while clothing prices continue to
decrease. According to the Council for
Textile Recycling, it can be estimated
that annual textile waste per person
amounts to 37.2 kg or 82 pounds.
Similar to an iceberg, where only
the tip is visible, estimates put the
collection, reuse, and recycle of all
unwanted garments at 15 per cent, the
tip of a colossal iceberg that sees the
remaining 85 per cent ending up in
landfill. Although the exact percentage
of textiles in each landfill is different,
it can be estimated that textile waste
accounts for 5–10 percent of Canada’s
landfills. This is based on data from the
United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), which reports 5.2 per
cent of textile waste in US landfills
as of 2013, as well as a waste audit
conducted by the Resource Recovery
Fund Board (RRFB) in 2012 in Nova
Scotia, where textile waste accounted
for 10 per cent of the waste stream.
While textiles made of synthetic fibres
will not biodegrade and expand the
volume of landfill space, natural fibres
(which are similar to other organic
materials) cause aggressive leachate
to the groundwater and contribute to
greenhouse gas emissions.
A recent study of the University of
Waterloo examined how consumers
manage their unwanted textiles, and
based on more than 400 participants
in Ontario with varying demographic
characteristics, the study shows that
37 per cent of respondents frequently
RECYCLING
reuse and repurpose their clothes,
and nearly 90 per cent, regardless of
gender and age, share a willingness
to donate their unwanted clothes and
know where to donate them. Only 10
per cent admit they have never thought
of doing anything with their garments
other than throwing them into the
waste. However, when given a set of
hypothetical garments in various states
of use, respondents planned to donate on
average 50 per cent of these garments.
All consumers demonstrate a lack of
awareness about what can be donated.
Considering
additional
barriers
respondents have to overcome, such
as the accessibility and convenience of
donation spots, the amount and type of
unwanted garments will influence the
willingness to donate. If consumers
have only a few garments to donate, for
example, the time it requires to bring
them to a donation box will determine
whether they donate or discard them as
waste. Furthermore, consumers often
forget or don’t even realize that towels,
curtains, and bedding can also be
donated. As a result, disposal is widely
practised among all consumers.
The good news is, “every ounce
of household clothing and textile
items can be recycled in some way,”
say researchers Stall-Meadows and
Goudeau, leaving solutions within
our grasp. That giant pile of my
family’s unwanted clothes need not
go to the garbage after all. Some
ground–breaking initiatives include
the proposed ban of textiles in landfills
in Nova Scotia, the municipality of
Markham’s mission to begin collecting
textiles, Goodwill’s newly implemented
collection boxes in multi-apartment
houses in San Francisco, and the takeback program offered by retailer Hennes
& Maurice. However, the issue needs
to be addressed on a broader level that
includes all stakeholders. The upcoming
Tip of the Iceberg Textile Diversion
Strategies and Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR) Symposium in
Markham, Ontario, at the Hilton Hotel,
Textile Diversion
Strategies and EPR
Symposium
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / AnikaSalsera
on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 aims to
bridge the gap between government
legislators, regulators, policy advisors,
and the private world of clothing
manufacturing, distribution, and endof-life management professionals
to establish collaborations and costeffective, environmentally sustainable
solutions. It’s time to address textile
waste in Canada.
Further information is available at
http://visionquestenvironmental.com/
event-registration/event-details ●●
Sources:
COUNCIL FOR TEXTILE RECYCLING. 2014. Abingdon.
Available: www.weardonaterecycle.org/about/issue.
html [Accessed February, 17 2014].
JENSEN, J. 2012. Waste Audit Services Project Final
Summary Report. In: RESOURCE RECOVERY FUND
BOARD, I. N. S. (ed.). Halifax.
Have you got some skeletons in your
closet—in the form of past shopping
binges?
We are pleased to announce the
Tip of the Iceberg Textile Diversion
Strategies and Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR) Symposium
- Markham (Ontario), at the Hilton
Suites Conference Centre & Spa Hotel,
on Wednesday, May 4, 2016. This
event bridges the gap between the
government legislators, regulators,
and policy advisors and the private
world of clothing manufacturing,
distribution,
and
end-of-life
management professionals. Our goal
is to establish cost effective and
environmentally sustainable solutions.
STALL-MEADOWS, C. & GOUDEAU, C. 2012. An
Unexplored Direction in Solid Waste Reduction:
Household Textiles and Clothing Recycling. Journal of
Extension, 50, 5RIB3.
You are invited to join, listen, network,
and discuss the issue of textile waste
diversion with government and private
sector speakers from across North
America.
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY. 2013. Textiles [Online]. Washington, D.C.
Available: www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/
msw99.htm [Accessed February 18 2014].
Register now before the event sells
out. /www.visionquestenvironmental.
com/event-registration.
WEBER, S. 2015. How Consumers Manage Textile
Waste. A thesis presented to University of Waterloo.
Waterloo.
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Co-operation
Eases the
Commondidty
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / hroephoto
VEHICLE RECYCLING
h
c
n
u
r
C
Over the past year, 50 metal scrapyards in North America have ceased operations and hundreds of
others are stockpiling their inventories under the pretence of waiting out the downswing in prices for
steel, iron ore, and other commodities, and for the demand slowdown and oversupply in China.
By / Jessica Kirby
IN THE US, this means a stall in the
$105-billion industry, which includes
many small businesses associated with
the scrap sector. US scrap steel exports
fell to $4.1 billion in 2015, down 34%
from $6.2 billion in 2014, and index
prices say scrap steel prices have fallen
29% to $203 a ton from $261 per ton a
year ago in the US.
Canadian recyclers are also feeling the
pinch, but for them it is a two-sided coin.
Low prices, dips in the mining sector,
and global demand – items affecting
the auto recycling economy in general
– are global issues, but Canadians have
an unsurprising advantage—their cooperative nature.
The actual business of auto recycling
in Canada is North American in nature
says Steve Fletcher, managing director
for the Automotive Recyclers of Canada
(ARC). Fletcher says the economy is
very much integrated with the US when it
comes to suppliers, buyers, participants,
and how they approach business.
“We share a lot in common, but Canada
is often times more progressive than
the US in terms of how the industry is
evolving,” he says. “Canadians have a
strong ability to co-operate. We have
common problems and approach it as,
‘So, how do I solve this’ rather than
looking for blame.”
Important progress towards levelling
the playing field and professionalizing
the industry has been mostly positive,
but progress can be a drawback for
some smaller operations not in the
position to make sweeping regulatory
changes to comply.
inclinations for minimum standards and
best practices.
Auto recycling regulation hasn’t seen
a significant overhaul since the 70s
at which time minimal requirements
were put in place to obtain a licence.
Over the past five years, ARC has been
encouraging the provincial governments
to modernize their legislation and adopt
its voluntary Canadian Auto Recyclers’
Environmental
Code
(CAREC)-essentially, a road map of how auto
recyclers should improve compliance
and demonstrate best practices.
“Our industry is unique in that the
inventory required comes from endof-life vehicles,” says Fletcher. “We
can’t order them; we have to find the
vehicles, store them, and do the sales
activity needed to make profit. When
there are no standards, the person with
the lowest operating standards can bid
the most and we think 50 to 60 per cent
of vehicles are not going to legitimate
auto recyclers.”
“We are telling them there is a problem
with the way vehicles are being
depolluted,” says Fletcher. “People
always want the metals, but the
difficulty lies in how the vehicles are
prepared for shredding and how the
metallic recovery is done. There are
many things in a car that need to be
stewarded.”
British Columbia was the first to
implement a requirement to have an
environmental management system
in place about eight years ago. In
March, Ontario passed a requirement
for a processing standard for anyone
in vehicle recycling, making it against
the law to shred a car that has not been
depolluted.
PEI has a similar regulation in place
requiring recyclers to meet updated
environmental rules and regulations,
and with three provinces on board the
momentum is gaining. Other provinces
are beginning to ramp up their
While the regulation is overwhelmingly
positive, equalizing the standard and
outlining environmental and legal
responsibilities, for some smaller
recyclers this may mean they close their
doors, reduce their operating time, or
sell their operations.
There are approximately 1600 auto
recyclers in Canada – an estimate, given
there is no definition at the provincial
level – and approximately 400 of them
are ARC members, processing 40 per
cent of the volume in Canada.
The number or recyclers in general is
down—five years ago ARC had 140
members in Ontario, for example, and
now the number rests around 120.
“The biannual CAREC audit weaned
out seven or eight and we lose about
four a year while gaining one or two,”
says Fletcher. “Most of those who don’t
renew have sold and are not operating
or closed, or maybe only operating
a day a week. Overall we are seeing
VEHICLE RECYCLING
about a five per cent decline in sited
facility counts.”
Despite challenges, there has never
been a better time to professionalize
the industry. Cars are becoming more
complex and their components are
becoming more valuable—they are
basically computers on wheels, says
Fletcher.
Cars have been light-weighted with
plastic and carbon fibre – both with
no recycling value – as well as more
aluminum, which is suffering less
price-wise than ferrous metals. But the
newest and more influential change in
technology is the increasing prevalence
of hybrid batteries, which are not
always profitable and can actually carry
a cost for disposal.
Interestingly, hybrid batteries are being
repurposed for energy grid storage
because at 70 per cent of their lives they
cannot power a car but, connected in a
group, can store energy. “There is a lot
of research in that area,” says Fletcher,
“and a lot of potential for alternative
energy sources like wind or solar.”
Luckily the nature of the auto recycling
industry is such that once new
technologies arrive on the markets,
recyclers can have eight or nine years
to monitor trends and decide how they
will deal with them.
“When unibody vehicles came out
everybody thought it would be the end
of industry,” says Fletcher. “We will be
processing 2016 cars eight, nine, ten
years from now so there is lots of time
to see the recalls, analyze requests, and
search out vehicles for certain parts.”
“Whether you consider the changes
good, bad, or indifferent, you have to be
aware of them and if you want an exit
strategy you have to run a regulated,
clean facility,” says Fletcher. “You just
need to know the trends and prepare
yourself accordingly.” ●●
Cars are expected to become more
complex over the next two to three
years and as a result there is a huge
outcry for data from manufacturers,
who are often resistant to provide it.
International Roundtable
on Auto Recycling
“We need the data required for us to
sell more parts and compete,” he says.
“This is primarily a North American
issue. Around the world where there
are EPR laws making manufacturers
responsible for the product at the end
of its life, manufacturers tend to supply
more data and tell what is in the cars.
That said, the rest of the world would
love to be in North America’s position
when it comes to part sales volume and
progress.
“We sell more parts off of a vehicle,”
says Fletcher. “This is where they
want to be in terms of profitability and
developing the industry.”
The Canadian industry will continue
the push for standardization and work
with the US with the understanding that
that country is better equipped to lobby
for significant change.
New in auto recycling is a growing effort
to share information on a global scale.
The International Roundtable on Auto
Recycling meets every 18 months to
discuss global and regional challenges
and solutions and to collaborate on
industry changes.
Steve Fletcher, managing director of the
Automotive Recyclers of Canada, acts as
administrator of the project, which has
met eight times in different locations
around the world.
“It brings the US, Canada, Europe, Japan,
Malaysia, India, China, and other countries
together over two days,” says Fletcher. “It
has been an interesting process to find
out what is going on in rest of world.
“Sometimes when people get together
and share ideas it is very clear there is a
global industry. It is a really neat process
we can extract from.”
The next meeting in May 2016 is in
Malaysia and the group is considering
Canada next in 2017. For more information
please visit www.irt-autorecycling.org.
Managing Scrap Tire Waste through Rubber Devulcanization
ON AVERAGE, each one of us generates
nearly one scrap tire per year—and
according to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), there were
more than 300 million scrap tires
generated in North America in 2015,
which is really quite staggering when
you think about it.
By Sam Visaisouk,
CEO, Tyromer Inc.
Scrap tires are difficult to recycle
and generally have limited reuse
applications. As a consequence of
limited recycling options, many
jurisdictions across North America
continue to burn tires (using scrap
tires as TDF or Tire-Derived Fuel).
Ultimately, the burning process only
recovers about 25 per cent of the energy
that originally went into producing the
tire. In fact, in order to promote the
development of greener practices, the
province of Ontario has banned the use
of TDF.
Devulcanization process
When rubber is formed into a tire,
VEHICLE RECYCLING
it is vulcanized. This is a process in
which rubber is mixed with sulfur and
exposed to heat. The result is a hard,
durable rubber product—perfect for
tires. However, vulcanized rubber is
difficult to recycle because it cannot be
easily reformulated into raw materials.
The problem of effectively and
efficiently recycling tires has been
explored for a long time. It wasn’t
until Dr. Costas Tzoganakis, a
chemical
engineering
professor
from the University of Waterloo
in Waterloo, Ontario, discovered a
rubber devulcanization process that
unlocks the underlying performance
characteristics of scrap tire rubber, that
a major breakthrough was made.
Tyromer as a commercial product.
Tyromer uses a supercritical carbon
dioxide assisted thermal-mechanical
extrusion process to convert rubber
recovered from recycled scrap
tires into Tire-Derived Polymer,
or TDP. The conversion is 99 per
cent efficient and no devulcanizing
chemicals or solvents are used in the
process. This is the only known costeffective and environmentally-friendly
devulcanization technology that can
reverse the effect of vulcanization.
The ground-breaking process produces
a highly versatile material that can be
used to create a wide variety of end-use
products.
Tyromer technology
Tyromer today
Tyromer technology, which is based on
rubber devulcanization, was developed
with the help of research funding
provided by Ontario Tire Stewardship,
the not for profit corporation that ensures
scrap tires are responsibly recycled in
the province of Ontario, and Ontario
Centres of Excellence, an organization
that connects entrepreneurs, start-ups,
industry, academia, and investors to
commercialize innovation and compete
globally. Tyromer also formed a
strategic collaboration with Kitchenerbased AirBoss, one of North America’s
largest custom rubber compounders,
who provided valuable technical
assistance in the development of
In September 2015, Tyromer announced
the opening of its new production line,
housed inside the AirBoss Rubber
Compounding facility on Glasgow
Street in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario.
Tyromer Waterloo Inc. represents
the successful collaboration with the
University of Waterloo, public (Ontario
Tire Stewardship), and industry
(AirBoss
Rubber
Compounding)
sectors in transforming an academic
invention into a global innovation in
scrap tire rubber reuse and resource
utilization.
Tyromer has a very simple vision. Try to
do something that creates a lasting and
meaningful impact on the environment,
Battery Recycling on the Rise
Terrapure VSC receives spent leadacid batteries and other lead-bearing
materials into its lead recycling
process. It also processes a wide variety
of industrial wastes that are indigenous
to the lead smelting process including
materials high in carbon, calorific
value, iron, or high pH material. The
inherent chemical or residual heat
values in these wastes are used as
substitutes for materials such as natural
gas, oil, metallurgical coke, or soda ash.
The company utilizes the residual heat
value in materials that are already
considered waste to feed its kiln so as
to substitute non-renewable resources.
This benefits the environment by
diverting hazardous waste from
landfills or incineration and recovering
the value of the wastes.
“As part of Terrapure’s continuous
improvement program, our VSC
Facility is currently applying Six
and at the same time bring forward an
opportunity to the local and global tire
recycling communities at large.
In the shorter term, Tyromer is looking
to open a second factory in Windsor,
Ontario, which could serve as its
gateway to the United States, where
Tyromer would use its own financing
or work with partners to establish new
locations.
New tire option
Managing scrap tire waste is still a
problem for North America and it
will be for China and India in the
future. Governments have used grants,
subsidies, and incentives to reduce
scrap tire stockpiles. To prevent further
stockpiling across North America, 50
per cent of all scrap tires are burned,
which is more than 500 million tires
globally. Just imagine the impact this
has on air quality.
With Tyromer, for the first time,
massive quantities of rubber from scrap
tires can be recovered without resorting
to government subsidies and incentives
or
environmental
compromise.
Tyromer offers the rubber industry
an opportunity to meet sustainability
mandates while getting access to a
cheaper rubber supply. The bottom line
is, Tyromer offers a painless way to deal
with a major environmental problem
that will only get bigger as more tires
hit the road. ●●
Sigma to improve processes and
therefore the value we provide to our
customers, including improvements
to our environmental performance,”
said Teresa Corsato of Terrapure. “As
part of the battery recycling industry,
Terrapure VSC is helping to divert
150 million automotive batteries from
landfills.”
About 99% of all spent lead batteries
are recycled, and they can be recycled
Recycling Performance
Measurement is Broken
Ever notice the never-ending changes
to packages on the grocery shelves?
Are you amazed that you need a new
electronic gadget every 12 months?
Packaging, products, and their materials
are changing at an astounding rate. For
those of you managing recycling and
waste operations, you are well aware
of the rapid changes coming from
producers.
The key changes are lightweighting,
material changes, and merging
functionality.
The impact of lightweighting is huge.
For example, PET water bottle density
has decreased 33 per cent to 50 per cent
since 20021.
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / woodoo
The weight of 50” TVs has decreased a
significant 33 per cent since 20102. As
well, TVs have experienced changes
in their material/technology from CRT
and LCD, to plasma and LED.
Two other major changes are the new
material packages and their sizes, e.g.,
muli-laminant pouches and single
servings. Reasons for this were outlined
in the Morawski, et al report on “The
Evolving Tonne” (May 2015).
For printed paper and packaging there
has been a 10 to 40 per cent decrease
in density of materials since 20053.
The range depends on where the
measurements were taken (e.g., on
truck, MRF tipping floor, bales). That
means, for the same volume, the weight
is 10 to 40 per cent less. Conversely,
to recover one tonne of material takes
industry research ●●
by / Rick Findlay, RFCL Innovations Inc.
more units, space, and effort—for
collection and MRFs.
Functional design changes, particularly
in electronics, is making it challenging
to consistently define the product,
e.g., what is a smartphone? Is it now
a phone, camera, video player, music
player, computer, health monitor? The
downsizing and functional merging
have changed the WEEE programs
dramatically in the last five years.
How we measure has not changed.
Changing Waste Streams
People in the waste and recycling
industry have known about this for a
few years now. We knew the way we
measured and reported on the system
was not providing accurate measures
of what was happening. But we did
not know why, by how much, its
implications, or how to fix it.
We started to become aware of our
measurement follies around 2012/13
when Ontario data from WDO on the
Blue Box and the Waste Electronics
programs were indicating stagnant or
dropping diversion tonnage, yet the
costs were continuing to increase at
rates that could not be explained by
new contracts, labour rates, etc., and
operators were telling us that they were
processing more.
From various analyses, e.g., sales
units, densities, functionality, it has
been clear that the amount of material
being collected and processed has been
increasing. So clearly the metrics and
reporting have not done a good job
of reflecting the changes and system
performance.
Our singular focus on reporting tonnes
diverted has provided us with the wrong
picture, including:
•
Incomplete data for planning and
managing MRFs and collection
capacity – design is driven
predominantly by volume – not
weight.
• Misguided or incomplete discussions
about costs – cost per tonne will
increase with lower densities, but does
it mean cost per sales unit is going up?
•
Incorrect estimates of remaining
landfill life – landfills fill up by
volume, not weight.
• Lack of understanding environmental
impacts of waste streams.
Performance Metrics Need Changing
Not only does the singular focus on
tonnes – tonnes diverted, cost per
tonne – not meet the needs of our
changing landscape, we have changing
objectives.
We also have multiple objectives—
which do not align neatly. But that is
ok. The objective of diverting waste
from landfills or incineration has been
clear. But we also need to minimize the
environmental impacts, e.g., minimize
toxic waste or reduce GHGs, and
minimize costs.
We are getting more data. This needs
to be analyzed and turned into more
accurate reporting that is aligned with
the objectives. There have been a few
recent studies in this area improving the
data and metrics. Examples include the
OWMA initiatives on Recycling Audit
Guidelines and Waste Facilities, the
previously mentioned Morawski study,
●● industry research
How Do We Go Forward?
A good performance measurement
system can be mapped out, and has
been used in many industries by:
Image courtesy of RFCL Innovations.
and the CCME EPR study (including
metrics).
Getting better metrics and data on an
ongoing basis, and then understanding
the implications is critical to the
industry’s players. This issue must be
included when setting goals, planning
equipment/facilities,
managing
operations, and of course, costing.
Whether you are a municipality,
recycling collector and/or MRF
operator, landfill operator, hauler, or
steward, the changes in the material
NEWS CLIP
streams are happening. You are seeing
it, and the way we measure and report
on quantities and performance will
indicate whether we are succeeding or
not.
The
provincial
and
municipal
governments need to consider this
issue when developing the regulations,
strategies, and waste management
plans. Continuation of our old,
limited data and method of reporting
performance would guarantee we will
not meet the policy objectives.
1. Identifying the multiple objectives.
2. Defining the goals per objective.
3. Identifying the strategic, then
operational metrics.
4. Identifying
Key
Performance
Indicators (KPIs) – don’t need to
measure everything
5. Setting targets.
6. Assigning roles and responsibilities –
who measures and reports what.
Reporting with a balanced scorecard
approach is a common method for
systems with multiple objectives and
will be more effective for all stakeholders
as we move forward with the constantly
changing environment. ●●
Rick Findlay, CMC, president, RFCL Innovations
Inc. Rick has provided expert consulting advice
to the recycling and other sectors on operation
design and performance management, across
Canada and internationally for over 20 years.
Automotive recyclers call for federal action to eliminate import
and use of asbestos brake pads in Canada
Asbestos brake pads pose a health risk to recyclers managing end-of-life vehicles
To eliminate the asbestos related health
risks associated with recycling endof-life vehicles (ELV) the Automotive
Recyclers of Canada (ARC) is adding
its voice in support of a call for federal
policies to effectively eliminate the
import and use of asbestos in Canada.
Every year approximately 1.6 million
vehicles reach their end of life in
Canada. These vehicles require
proper
end-of-life
management
including “depollution,” dismantling
for parts salvage and metals
recycling. Amongst materials such
as fuels, oils, mercury switches,
and
air-conditioning
refrigerants
(such as chlorofluorocarbons and
hydrochlorofluorocarbons) automotive
recyclers must also contend with brake
pads that may contain asbestos.
While vehicle manufacturers do not
install asbestos brake pads, one of the
largest categories of asbestos containing
products imported into Canada is aftermarket brake pads. Canada imported
more than $100-million in asbestos
brake pads and linings between
2005 and 2015. Imports of asbestos
containing brake pads into Canada
continue to increase unabated.
On April 5, 2016 the Ontario Ministry
of Environment and Climate Change
promulgated regulations requiring
automotive recyclers to recycle ELV
to set environmental standards. These
standards include the removal of
asbestos brake pads prior to compaction
of vehicle hulks in preparation for
shipment to metals recyclers.
Steve Fletcher, managing director of the
Automotive Recyclers of Canada notes,
“For an auto recycler there is no way
to know whether a brake pad contains
asbestos or not. In Ontario, every pad
regulatory developments ●●
New Brunswick Establishes
Electronics Recycling Program
The Minister of the Environment and
local government in New Brunswick
has established a waste management
program for electronics that is based
on the same extended producer
responsibility principles as the paint
and used oil recycling programs in
the province. New Brunswick is the
last province in Canada to establish an
electronics recycling program.
The new program will be managed by
brand owners and overseen by Recycle
New Brunswick and is expected to be
in operation by the fall of 2016. The
program will permit residents to dispose
of unwanted electronics (including
televisions, tablets, computers, and
digital cameras) at retail outlets.
Once returned, brand owners will be
responsible for sending the electronics
for recycling.
The Minister in New Brunswick has
publicly stated that the objective
is to ensure consumers don’t face
unexpected costs when they purchase an
item, and has mandated that recycling
costs be included in product price. New
Brunswick already has integrated fees
in its programs for paint and oil, and
Quebec integrates fees in its e-waste
program. Under established recycling
programs elsewhere, however, industry
runs the programs and consumers are
charged a fee at the time of purchase
to cover the cost of recycling when the
product reaches the end of its life.
However, retailers are objecting to
the electronics recycling program on
the basis that they view it as hiding
the recycling fee from the consumer
by including it in the cost of an item.
In response, the Minister has said
retailers are free to make consumers
aware of the cost. Retailers also argue
that New Brunswick’s program forces
them to advertise a different price
by / Rosland H. Cooper, LLB
in New Brunswick for in-store and
online electronics purchases compared
with other provinces. This results in
the advertised price for an electronic
product in New Brunswick being
higher than the advertised price for the
same product from the same retailer in
another province.
Prince Edward Island Modifies Formula
for Beverage Container Deposits
Prince Edward Island’s Minister of
Communities, Land and Environment
has, through Bill 21, amended the
Beverage Containers Act and introduced
a new formula to determine the amount
of beverage container deposits that are
required. The new formula combines a
fixed deposit amount that is refundable
to the consumer (either 5 or 10 cents,
depending on the size and contents of
the container) with a new prescribed
container recycling fee. Federal tax
will no longer be included in these
calculations.
CCME Studies Extended Producer
Responsibility Programs
The Canadian Counsel of Ministers
of the Environment (CCME) is in
the process of compiling information
regarding
extended
producer
responsibility and product stewardship
programs, and considering common
and consistent approaches across
Canada. In 2009, CCME approved a
Canada-wide Action Plan for Extended
Producer
Responsibility,
which
governments are now implementing.
Since the adoption of the Plan, nine
out of ten provinces have legislated
extended
producer
responsibility
programs or requirements, and the
number of product categories covered
by legislated extended producer
responsibility programs or requirements
has almost tripled with almost half of
the product categories identified in the
Plan being covered.
CCME has a Waste Management
Task Group that is undertaking work
with stakeholders to achieve greater
consistency on key elements of
extended producer responsibility and
product stewardship programs. Some
of these elements include product lists
for extended producer responsibility
materials,
definitions,
program
monitoring and reporting metrics,
and auditing protocols. CCME is also
looking to identify opportunities and
share best practices for implementing
extended
producer
responsibility
programs in northern and remote areas.
CCME is also gathering information
on the management of construction,
renovation, and demolition waste.
A report is expected from CCME on
March 4, 2016.
Manitoba Designates Hazardous
Wastes
Regulation 195/2015, the Hazardous
Waste Regulation in Manitoba, will
come into force on May 25, 2016.
The Regulation states that a product,
substance, or organism is designated as
a “hazardous waste” for the purposes
of the Dangerous Goods Handling
and Transportation Act, if the person
who owns or has care or control of the
product, substance, or organism intends
to store, treat, recycle, or dispose of it
and it falls within one of the categories
listed in the Regulation.
●● organic matters
A Taxing Proposition that Bites
The New Year brought the usual trail of
resolutions whose resolve is severely
tested and usually melted by the time
we hit Shrove Tuesday. A common
resolution is to eat less and exercise
more. Another common resolution
is to manage our money better. Latte
economics would have it that avoiding
that daily $5 drink would keep a lot
more of our money in our pockets. A
cool hybrid resolution would be to eat
better and throw out less. It could save
each of us at least $10/week.
There are many culprits when it comes
to throwing out food. Ultimately the
key responsibility is personal through
buying too much, not knowing how to
cook, and hating leftovers. However,
we can look upstream behind the happy
facades of food retailers and see (and
often not see) a lot of food being wasted.
The practice of food retailers wasting
food is so institutionalized that most
don’t even realize it. It is largely done
under the auspices of public health but
this thinking is so warped it appears
retailers think cosmetic issues with food
can be fit under that umbrella as well.
Just last week I was trolling around the
produce section at a grocery store in
Saskatoon (part of my resolution to eat
better) and saw the produce man pulling
shiny apples off the display pile and into
a garbage box and replacing them with
new shiny apples.
The Zero Waste Council recently came
out with a study titled, “Tax Incentive
Options for Charitable Food Donations:
by / Paul vander Werf
Making the Business Case,” and have
been advocating that food retailers
get an (additional) tax break to
donate leftover edible food to various
charities. It should be pointed out that
they already get a tax break for their
donations. However, a key argument
made is that businesses, “often pay
more to donate food than to throw
it out” and on that basis need some
additional tax relief. Their argument
serves to highlight a significant food
retailing structural issue that somehow
there is choice between feeding hungry
people and throwing food into a landfill
to feed hungry bacteria. A second issue
is that, on this basis, food retailers
have created two classes of food: one
they can sell to fortunate citizens, and
a second class they can feed to hungry
people or hungry bacteria. It raises the
significant ethical question, do hungry
people deserve to be fed second-class
food? As it stands now, the only thing
missing is a program whereby food
retailers send leftover food home with
their employees to be fed to their pets.
I don’t know how the Council got
hoodwinked and co-opted by food
retailers (I presume) into developing
and promoting this idea. By definition
zero waste is “a philosophy that
encourages the redesign of resource life
cycles so that all products are reused.”
For food products to meet this ethos it
is clear significant work is required.
Firstly, a re-design of food retailing is
required so it better matches the food it
sells with customer demands. Secondly,
consumer food appearance expectations
need to be dialed down from the
idealistic (not to mention unsustainable
and unrealistic) way food is currently
sold. It’s straight out of Disney. Thirdly,
best before date labelling needs a tear
down and rebuild so it applies only to
relevant products and is understandable
by consumers. All this additional tax
incentive does is allow food retailers to
perpetuate their bad habits and get paid
to do it.
As consumers we already pay for
both food disposal and donation. All
that tax relief for food retailers would
accomplish is to make consumers pay
twice: once for donating the food and
then again to make up the tax shortfall.
Somehow it needs to become
unacceptable for edible food to be
directed to the garbage (not to mention
composting). That unacceptability, if
not taken up voluntarily, may need to
work its way into regulation. That’s
much more in line with zero waste and
as well as being in the spirit of “you are
your brother’s keeper.” It would force a
change in the food retailer’s bottom line
so the stupid choice between landfilling
food and using it to fill an empty (human)
stomach do not have to be made. Is it too
much to ask for a little more stick and a
little less carrot? ●●
Paul is the owner of the environmental
consultancy 2cg. He is also a PhD candidate at
Western University and developing strategies to
prevent food from becoming food waste.
Microturbines: A Clean Energy Option
for Landfills
Landfill methane is produced when
organic materials such as paper,
yard, household, and food waste
are decomposed by bacteria under
anaerobic conditions. When left to
escape into the air, this methane
becomes a powerful greenhouse
gas. Microturbines are an innovative
technology that can harness the gas
to fuel power plants, manufacturing
facilities, and even the equipment at the
landfill itself. How is this feasible?
Microturbines are small combustion
turbines approximately the size of a
refrigerator. They are comprised of
a compressor, combustor, turbine,
recuperator (a device that captures
waste heat to improve the efficiency of
the compressor stage), and a generator.
They work as follows: fuel enters a
combustion chamber; the turbine can
run on natural gas, propane, biogas,
diesel, or kerosene—really almost
anything with a BTU content that burns.
The hot combustion gases expand and
spin a turbine, which is connected to
the shaft of an electrical generator.
The exhaust transfers heat to incoming
air via a recuperator. Air then passes
through a compressor and is warmed
by the exhaust gases before entering
the combustion chamber, preheating
the combustion process and increasing
simple cycle efficiency.
Providing unique advantages over
other technologies for landfills,
microturbines are especially valuable
in cases where landfill gas flow is low
or has low methane content. They are
modular and available in incremental
capacities for multiple-unit stacks, so
that single or multiple microturbines
can be configured to adapt to gas flow
and satisfy onsite power requirements.
They may be a more viable option
at smaller and older landfills where
landfill gas quality and quantity would
technology ●●
by / Darren Jamison
not support more traditional power
generation technologies. They may
also be feasible at larger landfill gas
sites that have excess gas that would
otherwise be flared.
Additionally, microturbines achieve low
emissions without a need for exhaust
aftertreatment. For example, NOx
emission levels from microturbines
are lower than those from a landfill
gas flare. The technology can operate
on landfill gas with up to 35 per cent
methane content. Furthermore, the
utilization of microturbine waste heat
in a combined heat and power (CHP)
application can significantly increase
efficiency levels and enhance project
economics.
For more than a decade and a half,
microturbines have been proving their
value at numerous landfill project sites
around the world. In 2002, some of
the first landfill microturbines were
installed at the 416-acre Calabasas
Landfill in Agoura, CA and served to
generate enough electricity to operate
the onsite landfill gas collection system
blowers. Notably, the gas extracted
from this landfill had a methane content
of only 25 per cent, highlighting the
utility of this technology for use on gas
that would otherwise be flared. Though
the site was decommissioned in early
2015 to accommodate a larger plant, the
cost-effective microturbine power plant
was very successful and the solution
paid for itself in just a few years.
In 2007, the La Ciotat Landfill
in La Ciotat, France installed 18
microturbines that collectively generate
approximately 1MW of electricity
daily, enough power for 1,000 French
homes. At this site, the landfill gas
was previously flared, as its methane
content was as low as 30 per cent; but
once again, this is no roadblock for
La Ciotat Landfill. Photo courtesy of Capstone
Turbine Corporation.
microturbines. Based on the success
of this project, similar microturbine
applications have been installed at 12
other landfills in France and Belgium.
In 2012, the Shoreline Landfill in
Mountain View, CA installed a pair of
microturbines that jointly generate 130
kW of power. This is used to operate
the landfill’s irrigation and sewage
pump stations and allows the landfill to
export power to the grid. And in 2014,
a Finnish energy company installed
microturbine technology at a landfill
project in Jyvaskyla, Finland, providing
a CHP solution that generates electricity
and utilizes thermal energy from the
exhaust to provide district heating.
With their proven abilities for electricity
and CHP generation, microturbines
will likely continue to serve as an
attractive option for landfill owners and
operators. ●●
Darren Jamison is president and CEO of
Capstone Turbine Corporation, the world’s
leading producer of low-emission microturbine
systems and the first to market commercially
viable microturbine energy products.
●● around the world
Sustainable Waste Management
System in Athens, Greece
Athens, the capital of Greece, has a
population of 667,000 people which
doubles in the summer from tourism.
Waste management, therefore, is a very
important task.
The municipality provides a waste
management system to collect 311,000
tonnes of annual waste 24 hours a day,
365 days a year, using a fleet of 45
waste collection vehicles driven by 245
drivers.
The vehicles and staff are based at the
central depot and offices on Iera Odos
Street in the Egaleo district of Athens.
This is near all the central road networks
aiding an efficient and productive
delivery of waste management services
across the city.
The municipality has two waste
collection rounds for non-recyclable
waste and two rounds for recyclable
waste. These rounds are based on a
collection frequency of 167 waste
collection programmes, so waste may be
collected in certain districts in the night,
the early morning, or mid-morning.
In some areas, such as Syntagma
Square and Omonia Square, waste is
collected three times a day because of
the large quantities produced by hotels,
restaurants, and shops. Waste is also
collected in the afternoon from markets
held daily across the various districts
once they close.
The municipality has provided green
coloured 1100 litre containers for
the non-recyclable waste fraction,
positioned at communal collection
points along the street. Blue coloured
1100 litre containers are provided for
the commingled collection of dry mixed
recyclables.
The non-recyclable and recyclable
waste fractions are collected using rearloading type waste collection vehicles.
The bulk of the waste collection fleet are
16m3 rear loaders fitted with trunnion
/ bin lifting equipment mounted onto
Mercedes Econic 1828 4x2 two-axle
chassis powered by liquified natural
gas to reduce emissions and the carbon
footprint. The remainder of the fleet are
16m3 rear loader equipment complete
with trunnion / bin lifting equipment
mounted onto a conventional diesel
powered Iveco Eurocargo 190EL28 4x2
two-axle chassis. These waste collection
vehicles feature a bin washing device in
the rear tailgate canopy.
The municipality also uses smaller type
waste collection vehicles of 7m3 capacity
mounted onto Iveco Eurocargo 4x2 two-
Photo submitted by Timothy Byrne.
by / Timothy Byrne
axle chassis. These collect waste from
the streets with narrow access or which
have many apartment buildings where
cars are double parked thus restricting
the access of a larger waste collection
vehicle.
The waste collection crew comprises
a driver and two loaders for the larger
waste collection vehicles and, in some
cases, for the smaller satellite waste
collection vehicles, a driver and one
loader. The waste collection operatives
position the 1100 litre containers
containing either the non-recyclable
or recyclable waste fraction at the
rear of the waste collection vehicle
to be emptied by the vehicles’ lifting
equipment. Once emptied by the lifting
equipment, the containers are positioned
at the communal collection point to
be refilled. Any excess waste next to
the full 1100 litre waste collection
containers is also cleared, leaving the
area clean and tidy.
At night the driver takes the fully
loaded waste collection vehicle to either
the Mechanical Biological Treatment
(MBT) plant at Ano Liosia to the north of
Athens or to the Schistou waste transfer
station to discharge the vehicle’s load.
Both of these facilities are operated
by ESDNA, the intermunicipally
owned waste management company
responsible for treating municipal waste
across the region of Attica. The Ano
Liosia MBT plant is one of the largest in
Europe, helping Greece to meet its EU
landfill diversion targets, and provides
a sustainable waste treatment system for
Athens and Attica. The Schistou waste
transfer station has a daily processing
around the world ●●
“The landfill site
complies fully with
the EU Landfill
Directive and flares
methane off site
and treats leachate
on site in its own
desalination plant.”
capacity of 600 tonnes and the waste
delivered to this facility is transported
daily by a fleet of ESDNA Scania 8x4
Multilift LHT320.56 hook loaders to
the Fyli sanitary landfill site at Ano
Liosia or to the MBT plant at Ano
Liosia for processing / treatment.
In the day, the waste collection vehicles
deliver their waste directly to the Fyli
sanitary landfill site at Ano Liosia, also
operated by ESDNA and the largest in
Greece. This disposes of all municipal
waste which cannot be processed in the
MBT plant, produced across Athens as
well as from the sixty six municipalities
across Attica. The landfill site complies
fully with the requirements of the
EU Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC)
and flares methane off site and treats
leachate on site in its own desalination
plant.
The smaller type waste collection
vehicles of 7m3 capacity mounted
onto Iveco Eurocargo 4x2 two axle
chassis collect two loads of waste
per programme. To provide a more
logistical solution to these smaller
vehicles travelling to the MBT plant,
waste transfer station, or sanitary
landfill site, once full they return to the
main depot and offices in Iera Odos
Street in Egaleo. Upon arrival, they
discharge their loads into one of four
46m3 rear loading semi trailers. These
are powered by an auxiliary engine so
Photo submitted by Timothy Byrne.
the tractor unit which hauls the rear
loading semi trailer to the MBT plant,
waste transfer station, or sanitary
landfill site can be used on other duties
e.g. taking one of the sister trailers to
be emptied. The 46m3 rear loading semi
trailers hold 25 – 27 tonnes of waste.
Once these are fully loaded, an Iveco
Trakker two-axle tractor unit hauls the
trailer to either the MBT plant at Ano
Loisia, or the Schistou waste transfer
station to be discharged during the
night or to the Fyli sanitary landfill site
for discharge in the daytime.
The municipality also operates a
mobile waste container service for
larger waste producers with a variety
of waste containers available to suit
larger establishments such as hospitals
and industry. These containers can be
delivered and collected from site using
a conventional Scania P94 4x2 twoaxle skip loader vehicle, a Scania P94
4x2 two-axle hook loader vehicle, or
an Iveco Trakker 6x4 three-axle hook
loader vehicle.
There is also a facility at Iera Odos –
Egaleo for the discharge of bulky waste
like waste furniture, which is collected
by smaller sized non-compaction
vehicles. The furniture is reloaded at
Iera Odos – Egaleo for bulk hauling to
the Fyli sanitary landfill site.
In conclusion, the municipality provides
a sustainable waste management
system for Athens, which will be further
developed in the near future with the
construction of a purpose built waste
transfer station, where municipal waste
will be discharged by waste collection
vehicles and reloaded into top loading
56m3 waste transfer trailers. It will be
bulk hauled to the MBT plant at Ano
Loisia or to the Fyli sanitary landfill
site, thus optimizing and achieving
higher levels of productivity from the
waste collection service as well as
reducing damage to the conventional
fleet of larger waste collection vehicles
from having to drive off road at the
landfill site. ●●
The CompuWeigh System: Software that Outweighs the Competition
www.paradigmsoftware.com
410.329.1300
The Standard in Weighing and Routing Software
410.329.1300 • www.paradigmsoftware.com
●● advertiser index
Waste Watch
Continued from page 9
Five Tips to Stay Alive is available for
download on the SWANA website in
flyer, poster, and social media banner
formats for easy sharing in promoting
safety to colleagues and other industry
professionals.
For more information on SWANA and
its Safety Matters program, please visit
www.SWANA.org/safety. ●●
Regulatory Developments
The Regulation also addresses the
registration of generators of hazardous
waste and hazardous waste storage
requirements, as well as container
requirements and storage deadlines
for hazardous waste. There are also
provisions dealing with licences to
transport hazardous waste, including
insurance requirements and the duties
of licence carriers and consignees
to refuse to accept waste in cases of
discrepancy.
Ontario Increases Fees on Hazardous
Waste
Ontario’s Minister of the Environment
and Climate Change has posted a
notice amending the General Waste
Management Regulation, Ontario
Regulation 347. The revisions include
a significant increase in the tonnage
component of the hazardous waste fee
from $10 per tonne to $20 per tonne
as of January 1, 2016, and from $20 to
$30 per tonne as of January 1, 2017.
The notice also announces the updating
of the Registration Guidance Manual
for Generators of Liquid Industrial
and Hazardous Waste to reflect these
amendments. ●●
Battery Recycling on the
Rise
over and over again without degrading
the quality
Unlike auto recyclers, which suffer in
volatile commodity markets, Terrapure
VSC is somewhat insulated from
these values as a secondary processor
of spent lead acid batteries and not a
primary smelter.
“Basically, we will continue to receive
and process spent batteries as long as
there are vehicles on the road and the
battery’s lifespan remains limited,” said
Corsato. “Similarly on the commercial
side, after we’ve transformed the spent
batteries into lead, demand for the
like-new material remains steady due
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industry news between issues.
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to the multitude of lead-consuming
industries, new applications, and new
technologies, making lead a fairly
market-resilient base metal. ●●
Did you Know?
• Up to 99% of spent batteries get recycled
annually.
• 150 million auto batteries get recycled every
year
• Recycling keeps 2.6 million tons of batteries
containing lead out of the landfills
www.associationofbatteryrecyclers.com.
News Clip
will need to be removed and where the
recycler encounters an asbestos brake
pad there is inevitably going to be some
release of asbestos particulate into the
air.” adding, “This is an unacceptable
and wholly unnecessary risk. Asbestos
brake pads should simply not exist in
Canada. We are calling for the federal
Ministers of Health and Environment
and Climate Change to act now.”
The Automotive Recyclers of Canada
represents over 400 vehicle recyclers
and dismantlers from across Canada.
ARC members collectively recycle an
average of 400,000 vehicles each year
thereby avoiding over 1 million metric
tonnes of greenhouse gases associated
with producing metals from raw
materials.
For
more information,
visit www.autorecyclers.ca●●
please
Advertiser Index
Company
Phone
2cg Waste Management Consulting Inc.
519.645.7733www.2cg.ca
30
Call2Recycle
877.2.RECYCLE
19
Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo
403.589.4832www.cwre.ca
WRAP
Freightliner
800.FTL.HELPwww.freightlinertrucks.com/worksmart
05
Kernic Systems
800.678.9516www.kernicsystems.com
07
Liebherr
800.363.7950
www.liebherr.ca
09
Machinex
877.362.3281
www.machinextechnologies.comOBC
Paradigm Software, LLC
410.329.1300www.paradigmsoftware.com
33
Rosen Goldberg
416.224.4220
www.rosengoldberg.com
08
Van Dyk Recycling Solutsions
203.967.1100
www.vdrs.com
IFC
WasteExpo
708.486.0744www.wasteexpo.com
Website Page
www.call2recycle.ca
11 / IBC
FACT: 96% of attendees
would recommend WasteExpo
to a colleague!
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WERE EXTREMELY
USEFUL AND
ENJOYABLE! THE
PRESENTERS MAKE
IT EASY TO BETTER
YOUR OPERATIONS.”
Greg Lamont
Solid Waste & Recycling Readers Save!
Register at www.wasteexpo.com with
code VP26 today!
PEOPLE ARE TALKING RECYCLING
Recycling professionals have known the value of WasteExpo for years. They count on
it for fresh ideas and new techniques to help their business grow. With nearly 600
exhibitors, a comprehensive education program and a venue ideal for doing business—
you can see why exhibitors and attendees come back year after year. That says it all.
For more information go to www.wasteexpo.com
Conferences & Special Events: June 6-9, 2016 • Exhibits: June 7-9, 2016
Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, NV USA
Associated with:
Produced by:
In Collaboration wIth:
Safety Director
Recycle Minnesota/Dick’s
Sanitation Service Inc.
MACH Ballistic Separator
MACH Hyspec® Optical Sorter
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The Truth About Waste Management GHGs

Transcription

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