Date: November 21, 2012
Source: Waste Management of Canada
Waste Management, Inc. (Houston, TX) has opened a massive new $30 million 126,000-squate-foot single-stream recycling plant in Cambridge, Ont. The plant will process up to 550,000 tons of material a year making it the largest private-sector recycling facility in Ontario. It sports new technology, including a paper magnet, optical sorter, electro-magnetic technology and various screen sorters, to handle a greater diversity of wastes than traditional facilities while extracting a higher percentage of materials from those streams.
The new facility has been designed to handle residential and commercial recyclables, construction and demolition wastes, scrap electronics (e-waste), CFL lights and batteries. Single-stream recycling, which allows customers to comingle their recyclable materials in one bin, simplifies collection and lowers costs while boosting participation. The company says it generally sees average volume increases of 20 percent and 30 percent under single-stream. As a company, Waste Management hopes to triple the volume of recyclable materials being processed by 2020.
Waste Management of Canada employs 3,400 people at 116 locations, including 20 recycling facilities and 18 landfills, who serve more than 4.5 million residential customers and 170,000 industrial and commercial customers.
See also: "WM to Build $30 Million State-of-the-Art Recycling Facility in Ontario," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20120208F.htm), February 2, 2012.
PRESS RELEASE
November 16, 2012
Waste Management of Canada launches largest state-of-the-art recycling centre in Ontario
New single-stream recycling facility to process up to 550,000 tonnes of material per year from Southwestern Ontario and will increase diversion
Waste Management of Canada today unveiled the largest licensed private-sector recycling facility in Ontario to date at an official opening attended by a number of dignitaries from all levels of government.
The 126,000-square-foot plant uses a state-of-the-art, single-stream recycling process, and will accept both industrial and municipal waste, with a significant focus on businesses. Up until this point, Ontario businesses have not had access to high-quality single-stream recycling services, resulting in a much lower waste diversion rate than residential sources. This new facility will offer more convenient and more cost-effective recycling solutions for businesses within the service area. A single-stream process eliminates the need for businesses to separate plastics, metals and papers prior to collection and is expected to greatly improve participation by businesses, and in particular restaurants, in recycling.
Waste Management of Canada's new Cambridge plant is equipped with the latest technology and processes not found in older recycling centres. Through the use of state-of-the-art equipment that includes a paper magnet, optical sorter, electro-magnetic technology and various screen sorters, the facility will be able to accept more waste than traditional facilities and sort materials more precisely, enhancing the amount recovered for reuse. This improved recycling process supports Ontario's landfill diversion goals and extracts more value from the waste coming into the plant.
"This new, state-of-the-art, single-stream recycling facility is the first of its kind for Waste Management of Canada," said Brad Muter, Area Vice President for Eastern Canada at Waste Management. "Our goal was to target business customers in particular because they do not have as many recycling options as residential consumers. One of the biggest advantages of the single-stream process is the convenience it grants to the customer. Material separation and decisions about what goes in and what stays out are no longer required. Customers can send all their materials together."
The Cambridge facility kicked off its official opening with a ceremonial "blue box tipping" onto the plant's line by special guests Gary Goodyear, federal Minister of State for Science & Technology, and Doug Craig, Mayor of Cambridge. Also attending the official opening were a number of area dignitaries including Councillors Gary Price, Karl Kiefer, Donna Reid, Dan Glenn Graham, Nicholas Ermata, Bob Bell and Cam Guthrie.
The facility has created approximately 80 new jobs, as well as indirect economic benefits for both the local Cambridge economy and the wider Ontario economy. Waste collected for the facility will come principally from Southwestern Ontario, ranging from Niagara to Barrie, and Sarnia to Oshawa.
Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley voiced his support for the enhanced recycling opportunities the facility offers customers. "The new plant has the potential to dramatically increase diversion of waste to economic uses rather than taking up landfill space. It is also creating new green jobs."
"Waste Management is proud to be investing in the Cambridge community," said Muter, "and also proud of its role in helping to increase waste diversion and support sustainability goals in Ontario. This new facility reinforces Waste Management's position as a leader in innovation in our industry."
About Waste Management
Waste Management of Canada is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services, offering advanced residential, commercial and industrial collection, recycling and disposal services throughout Canada.
Waste Management of Canada employs 3,400 people at 116 operating locations in nine provinces, servicing over 4.5 million residential customers and 170,000 industrial and commercial customers. Waste Management of Canada owns and/or operates 20 recycling recovery facilities and 18 landfills.
A subsidiary of Waste Management Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company is backed by the knowledge, experience, and resources of North America's largest environmental services organization. To learn more information about Waste Management, visit www.wmcanada.com.
For more information, contact:
Patricia Best
Cohn & Wolfe
416-258-3783
patricia.best@cohnwolfe.ca.
PRESS RELEASE
February 2, 2012
Waste Management to build Ontario's largest private-sector recycling facility in Cambridge
$30-million investment will create up to 80 jobs, boost local economy, and help reduce dependence on landfill disposal
Waste Management (WM) announced today that it will build a single-stream recycling centre in Cambridge, Ontario, that will process up to 550,000 tonnes of material a year.
WM has already acquired the property and existing plant at 505 Conestoga Blvd., and will now begin a major retrofit. Scheduled to begin operations this Fall, it will be the largest private-sector recycling facility in the province. The total investment is expected to be approximately $30 million.
Approximately 80 local green jobs will be created at the 126,000-squate-foot plant when it becomes operational, and this employment figure could increase as recycling volumes grow over time.
As well, the area economy will get a boost during the construction and operation of the centre as WM sources local suppliers and contractors wherever possible.
A single-stream recycling facility (SSRF) eliminates the need for customers to separate recyclable materials prior to collection, since sophisticated material-handling equipment inside the SSRF handles the task. This makes it easier for customers to recycle. Experience has shown that recyclable material volumes increase an average of 20% to 30% after customers switch to single-stream collection.
The Cambridge plant will use advanced technology that includes magnets, screens and optical scanners to separate, sort and process a variety of materials, including:
residential and commercial cardboard, paper, glass, plastics and metals
construction and demolition waste materials
electronic equipment such as cell phones and computers
compact fluorescent light bulbs and batteries
Brad Muter, WM's Vice President for Eastern Canada, noted that the recycling centre will support Ontario's landfill diversion goals, and it furthers the company's commitment to helping customers extract more value from their waste.
"This project is one of several being undertaken by Waste Management in Ontario as part of the company's broad investment in new technologies to better manage waste for its resource potential," Muter said.
"WM is much more than a waste collection company. Today we mine these materials for their valuable recyclable content. This is good for the environment, and quite frankly, good for business. It sets us apart in the environmental services field."
One of WM's sustainability goals is to triple the volume of recyclable materials being processed by 2020.
About Waste Management
Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company's customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are information of a non-historical nature or which relate to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. In many cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors. The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events as of the date of this release. We undertake no ongoing obligation to update these statements.
For more information, contact:
Waste Management
Wes Muir
905.483.3099
wmuir@wm.com.
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