"This new technology will enhance Niagara’s reputation as a leader in recycling by decreasing the amount of materials going to landfills and enabling us to produce higher quality recyclable material with higher market values." ~ Alan Caslin, Chair, Niagara Region
Niagara Regional Chair Alan Caslin and members of Regional Council were joined by representatives from Waste Diversion Ontario Continuous Improvement Fund and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association to unveil new leading-edge technology that will enhance the Region’s ability to divert waste from landfills and produce high quality end products out of recyclable material.
Niagara Region is the first municipality in Ontario to install this technology in a municipally-owned recycling facility.
"This new technology will enhance Niagara’s reputation as a leader in recycling by decreasing the amount of materials going to landfills and enabling us to produce higher quality recyclable material with higher market values. It further demonstrates Regional Council’s commitment to the environment, and our willingness to invest in innovative new technology that will reduce costs for Niagara residents." ~ Alan Caslin, Chair, Niagara Region
The polystyrene foam densifier compresses large volumes of polystyrene foam, collected both curbside in the Blue Box and at Regional Drop-off Depots, into highly dense, stackable blocks which can be turned into new products such as picture frames, decorative mouldings and office supplies.
The new densifier technology enables a significant reduction in the number of truckloads used to transport the densified foam material for recycling – for every densified load 35 to 40 trucks of loose un-densified foam is taken off the road.
The densifier was funded through a partnership involving Niagara Region, Waste Diversion Ontario Continuous Improvement Fund and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.
The fibre optical sorting system uses near infrared technology to efficiently detect and separate different types of recyclable materials, including newsprint, cardboard and plastic. The result is improved quality of newsprint resulting in higher revenues and greater recovery of cardboard and boxboard also resulting in higher revenues. Additional revenues are used to offset the costs of delivering waste management programs to Niagara residents and businesses.
The fibre optical sorting system was funded through a partnership between Niagara Region and Waste Diversion Ontario Continuous Improvement Fund.
