Upgraded Recycling Facility Built from Incinerator Ash in Ladysmith, Canada

The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) has reopened its newly expanded and renovated recycling centre which has been built using recycled ash from an incinerator that used to operate on the site in Ladysmith, British Columbia. The CVRD said that the facility provides residents with access to one of the most innovative residential recycling facilities in Canada which accepts hundreds of products for recycling, mostly free of charge, as well as a ‘Free Store’ where items that are in good or repairable condition can be taken away free of charge. The district added that the new facility’s design included the full reuse and refurbishment of an old incinerator building on the site, as well as recycled metals and concrete. The facility also reused 45,000 cubic metres of ash generated by an old incinerator on the site by using advanced technology to safely enclose it within the base of the new recycling centre. According to the CVRD, locally processed food waste will be used to nourish native, drought-tolerant grasses, bushes and shrubs planted around the site. The $4.2 million project was made possible in part due to $1.68 million provided through the federal Gas Tax Fund. The Cowichan Valley Regional District said that it provided the remaining funds. “The transformation of the Peerless Road Recycling Centre is a fine example of how innovation in design and technology can lead to a win-win solution for both the environment and local residents,” commented Dr. James Lunney, Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Alberni. Rob Hutchins, CVRD chair and Mayor of Ladysmith added: “We’ve made great strides from the days when nearly anything and everything was incinerated.” “Residents have established our region as a provincial leader in waste reduction while our innovative approach to ash landfill closure and engineering design has saved taxpayers approximately $8 million over alternative options, such as shipping ash to another landfill for disposal. The road to Zero Waste starts here,” concluded Hutchins. Read More Wheelabrator & Inashco JV to Recycle Metals from Waste to Energy Ashes Inashco, a specialist in the recovery metals for the ashes of waste to energy facilities, has formed a joint venture with Wheelabrator to the recycle metals from ashes. $240m Plasma Gasification Waste to Energy Deal Signed in Barbados Cahill Energy has signed an agreement with the government of Barbados to build and operate a plasma gasification waste to energy facility on the Caribbean island. 50% Recycling Target for Indianapolis but Deadline Unclear Legislators in Indiana have set the state a target of reaching a 50% recycling rate and are to implement new recycling data reporting requirements.