McNab/Braeside working to bring garbage steaming plant to Ottawa Valley
The township of McNab/Braeside is looking to scrap the traditional ways the region disposes of garbage by bringing in a unique steam recycling garbage plant.
Sustane Technology currently operates a steaming garbage plant in Chester, N.S. McNab/Braeside mayor Tom Peckett says the township and Sustane have had a signed memorandum of understanding in place since 2018.
"It recycles 90-plus per cent of all the garbage that comes here," Peckett tells CTV News.
"The homeowners won't have to sort anything. They'll just have to put their kitchen waste in a green garbage bag and put it at the curb. And they can put two, four, six, however many they want."
Sustane president Peter Vinall says the company uses eco-friendly technology to break down and then sort household garbage into fibre sized pieces.
"We shred it up, [...] and then we cook it," Vinall said. "We cook it in enclosed vessels. There's no combustion, we're not burning anything, we're just using steam, like a pressure cooker at home. And that causes the fibres in your papers and cardboards and diapers and food to basically go back to fibres."
At the end of the process, the garbage is then turned into biodiesel which helps power the plant and can be sold for use, as well as pellets, similar to wood pellets, which can be used as fertilizer.
The plant is intended to be built on the site of the current landfill on Calabogie Road at an estimated cost of $30-million and would employ 25 people. Peckett is hopeful the recycling plant could be up and running by the end of 2023 or start of 2024.
"We build it, we operate it," says Vinall. "We need a stream of garbage. Our target is 70,000 tons a year and a tipping fee that would be competitive with the landfill today."
The last point before a contract can be signed for Sustane is a commitment to supplying the quota of garbage needed to effectively run the plant. Sustane requires a minimum of 200 tons of garbage per day.
Peckett says between the township, the rest of Renfrew County, Lanark County, and additional industrial and commercial waste, they can meet that mark.
But after many meeting with the City of Ottawa, who just this week put a call out for feedback on a new solid waste master plan, no agreement could be reached.
"The minimum plant is 200 tons a day, and it can be altered to 400 tons or even 600 tons a day," says Peckett. "We did talk with the City of Ottawa but they explained that they were going in a totally different direction and that was that."
Amid overflowing landfills across the province, Vinall says local residents can be reassured that their community would not become a dumping ground.
"We have practically no smell or emissions from our plant," says Sustane's president. "It's very low impact technology compared to incineration or other methods of disposing of waste."
Vinall also made a point to recognize Peckett as a leader in solving the waste disposal problem.
"Our commitment is strong. We think it's the right place for us. Ontario needs a solution and we'd like to build a showcase in your backyard there."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.