Metro Vancouver’s plan to divert up to 70% of garbage from the landfill by 2015 is creating business opportunities for companies in the trash industry.
Massachusetts-based Harvest Power is about to begin construction of a US$12 million anaerobic digester in Richmond it claims will be the first high-efficiency system in North America that produces renewable energy from food and yard waste.
Harvest was attracted to Metro Vancouver’s policies on landfill diversion.
“Places like Vancouver that are beginning this source separation of organics, those are the exceptions to the rule right now,” said Paul Sellew, Harvest’s co-founder and CEO.
Although some municipalities in Metro Vancouver divert more waste from the landfill than others, the region’s solid waste management plan, launched last July, calls for the diversion 70% of the all solid waste away from landfills by 2015.
Right now, more than 55% of the 3.6 million tonnes of waste Metro Vancouverites create every year is kept out of the garbage.
In 2015, the region will have a ban on food scraps entering transfer stations from any residence, business or facility.
Businesses see opportunities to create composting facilities, waste-to-facilities and to provide services that facilitate Metro Vancouver’s solid waste plan,
“We have a lot of interest from different organizations to come into Metro Vancouver to set up shop because they know there is going to be an increase in volume of organics diverted from the landfill,” said Greg Moore, chair of region’s Waste Management Committee, and mayor of Port Coquitlam.
He wouldn’t provide names, but noted Metro Vancouver is in an RFP process to tender construction of roughly $15 million biogas facility in Surrey that would convert about 80,000 tonnes of organic waste a year into biogas.
Biogas, in turn, can be converted into electricity.
Another company, Pilot Grove Farms, has proposed building a composting facility in Surrey
“By putting bans in place, it gives a strong indication to municipalities that they need to move forward to bring in food-scrap diversion programs,” Moore said.
Next week’s edition of Business in Vancouver includes a feature on Harvest Power’s proposed facility.