Every year 1,017,000 tonnes of solid waste is collected in Ottawa (approximately 330,000 residential and 697,000 commercial and IC&I) — an amount that will grow as our city continues to grow. The good news is that we are recycling and composting more than ever. The bad news is that everything we do not recycle or compost continues to be dumped in nearby landfills.
There is a better, cleaner, solution.
The Partnership for a Zero-Waste Ottawa is a joint project between the City of Ottawa and Plasco Energy Group. With the City of Ottawa providing the waste and the location, PlascoEnergy will operate a state-of-the-art evaluation facility at the Trail Road landfill that will safely process up to 85 tonnes of waste into usable electricity each day.
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a foundation created by the Government of Canada, is funding 30% of the costs of the project or up to $6.6 million, and Hera Holdings, SA., a well regarded waste management firm based in Spain is providing both financial contribution and technical expertise. The Province of Ontario is contributing up to $4 million in the form of a loan through the Ministry of Research and Innovation.
Household waste collected by the City will be delivered to the plant, including up to 8% non-recyclable plastics otherwise destined for landfill. For every tonne of waste processed, enough energy is generated to power the facility and provide 1,150 Kwh of electricity to Hydro Ottawa. That’s enough to power a household in Ottawa for 45 days. The system will also produce a small amount of inert residual solid that is useful as aggregate for concrete and asphalt.
The system to convert the waste to synthetic gas is sealed, with no emissions to the atmosphere. Power is generated in internal combustion engines using this syngas as fuel. The exhaust from these engines will be closely monitored to confirm that these exhausts contain emissions that are within the tight standards set by the Provincial Regulations governing the operation, which are more stringent than standards typically applied in Ontario.
The environmental benefits associated with the technology are great. Not only will it displace dirty electricity produced from coal, it will also divert the waste it processes from landfill—so that waste will no longer pollute our land, air and water. Air pollutants and greenhouse gases will be significantly better than the alternative of continued landfilling and energy generation from coal, or even natural gas.
For more information about the environmental performance and limits placed on the facility please visit the Environmental Performance section.
Plasco Energy Group is assuming all associated risk in building the evaluation facility, guaranteeing environmental performance and removing the facility if the evaluation is not a success. The City of Ottawa will provide the site, the waste and a $40 per tonne tipping fee—about the same as it costs the City to dump waste at the City owned landfill.
For more information about how the Plasco Conversion System (PCS) works, please click here or visit http://www.plascoenergygroup.com.