One man’s trash is the city’s recycling
More waste to be diverted with 4R Winnipeg Depot
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This article was published 30/10/2015 (3599 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
As Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill continues to grow so is its recycling capabilities.
The City recently shared its plans for the new 4R Winnipeg Depot at the Brady Road Resource Management Facility, along with new developments at the dump.
According to Darcy Strandberg, supervisor of support services in the solid waste division, a significant amount of progress has been made at the landfill.
“In the last few yew years we’ve advanced quite a bit in regards to where we were. In the last two years, we’ve built and constructed and flared the landfill gas which is taking methane out of the landfill and turning it into CO2,” he explained.
At the landfill there are currently seven hectares designated for yard waste composting which, in the last year, have collected just under 30,000 tons of yard waste.
The city has also begun composting its bio-solids (the leftovers from waste water treatment) with about 10 per cent of 50,000 tons of bio-solids being converted. Strandberg said the city is still considering the viability of expanding the composting program.
Much of the improvements to the landfill have resulted in a more hospitable environment for neighbouring communities that continue to expand towards the landfill site. Plantings of greenery and the recent process of flaring methane gas has reduced odours and more controls are in the works.
“We are currently in the second year of construction for the lime mud berm which is mud from the sugar beet factory, and we are constructing the berm along a section of Waverley and along the north Perimeter and Brady Road,” Strandberg said.
“Once we build this lime mud berm, we’ll cover it with compost and top soil and plant it with trees. With the height and trees it’s reducing sound, smell and (offers) litter control.”
The city is also hoping to divert about 10,000 tons of waste from the landfill with the opening of a new 4R Winnipeg Depot at the end of the year (weather permitting).
The depot, which will be as large as five football fields, will accept non-traditional waste materials such as old TVs, computers, microwaves; household hazardous waste such as fluorescent lights, propane tanks and paint; and tires, motor oil, filters, and containers, for free.
The materials will be collected at the depot and producer responsibility organizations claim the waste, ship it to their processing plants and recycle it in some capacity.
The new depot will change the user experience of the landfill and in addition to keeping out waste, will also keep people out of the landfill.
“So currently if someone comes in with a residential load of garbage they usually drive about a mile to a tipping face. Once the 4R Depot is open the residents will no longer be driving in Brady Road. It’ll be a one-stop and you can drop your recyclables, and if there’s excess waste, we can scale and take that for a fee,” Strandberg said.
The City is also looking for businesses interested in working in waste diversion and reclaiming material that is no longer serving its purpose. The City hopes to open a “Green Business Park” at the Brady Road site but first must find parties who fit the bill.
“The Green Park is for private enterprise which encourages the development of industrial or commercial enterprises to establish diversion efforts on the site to focus on recovering value in various waste streams,” Strandberg explained. “It’s ongoing and we’re always looking for businesses.”
For a full list of accepted recycling materials go to http://wwdengage.winnipeg.ca/4rdepots/