Emterra Group Officially Opens Recycling Plant in Global Transportation Hub

REGINA, SK (October 28, 2013) –The Emterra Group officially commissioned its new, 45,000 sq. ft. Recyclable Materials Recovery Facility located in the Global Transportation Hub (GTH) at the west end of Regina on Monday, October 28.

Saskatchewan’s Minister of the Economy and Minister Responsible for the Global Transportation Hub, Bill Boyd, and Regina Mayor, Michael Fougere, helped Emterra Founder and CEO, Emmie Leung, officially open the facility during the ceremonies.   

Emterra is a Canadian leader in waste diversion and recyclable materials collection, recovery, processing and commodities marketing. It built the material recovery facility (MRF) after winning a contract with the city to process and market an estimated 25,000 tonnes of recyclables collected annually from Regina’s single stream Blue Cart Recycling program. At full operation, the plant will have a total processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes annually. 

Emterra’s investment in the 13-acre operation tops $18 million.

“This Saskatchewan MRF is the flagship of Emterra’s processing operation,” said CEO Emmie Leung. “We’ve built it from the ground up with a full commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability.” 

In his remarks, Minister Boyd said, “To have Emterra label its GTH development as its ‘flagship recycling facility’ is a source of pride for the GTH, the City of Regina, and for the Province of Saskatchewan. Emterra is a first-class example of Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan in action and clearly demonstrates that Saskatchewan is the place to be in Canada.”

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere reported on the success of the city’s recycling program since start-up in July.

“Our residents have embraced recycling, an important environmental initiative for our city,” the Mayor said. “We have already recycled 3,000 tonnes after just a few months of our Blue Cart Recycling program.  That is impressive.”

Socially-responsible Employment Opportunities

Leung said the new plant now employs between 25 and 30 workers with expectations that the number will grow as Emterra expands to meet the solid waste management needs in Saskatchewan’s municipal and industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) sectors.  Both full and part-time employment opportunities are available to people with varying abilities through a cooperative project with the Partners In Employment Program provided by the Saskatchewan Abilities Council. Emterra will offer tours of the operation to school groups and other educational organizations.

Due to the severe weather of this past winter, completion of the building and subsequent installation of the equipment was delayed past the start of Blue Cart Recycling. However, Emterra had sufficient room to store recyclables until operations could begin and by the time of the official opening all of the materials had been processed.  

Environmentally-Responsible Construction

The plant was designed to use less energy, less water and less natural resources. Benefits include lower energy and water costs, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and a healthier environment for workers. Following LEED’s best practices for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, Emterra incorporated:

• more than 250 metric tonnes of recycled asphalt in the site development;
• advanced, energy saving windows and doors that incorporate recycled materials;
• nearly 137 metric tonnes of recycled steel in the structure and panelling;
• water conserving washroom facilities; and
• processing equipment that features industry-leading, energy efficient technology.

The MRF technology and design, which features the latest European optical near infrared and mechanical sorting equipment, enables Emterra to process the full spectrum of packaging and printed paper recyclables collected in the residential and ICI sectors, including plastic packaging (identified as resin types 1 through 7) with the exception of plastic film and expanded polystyrene packaging (most MRFs in Canada do not process film and expanded polystyrene at this point), aseptic and polycoat containers, steel cans, aluminum containers, glass, cardboard, newspaper, magazines, soft cover books, printer paper, and all types of mixed paper.

Currently operating in BC, Manitoba and Ontario, this is Emterra’s 13^th packaging and printed paper MRF and fourth that is designed to process single stream recyclables (SSR), which allows residents and businesses to commingle container and paper recyclables in the same recycling bin. SSR typically results in a 20% to 25% increase in the recovery of recyclable materials compared to recycling programs that require additional sorting by residents and businesses. Emterra is the largest SSR facility designer, builder, and operator and commodities marketer in Canada.