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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, October 27, 2011 · 8 Municipalities struggle to find recycling markets Continued d from f page 1 region's total take is roughly $10 million a year. If households started recycling more, municipalities could strike deals with a new breed of entrepreneurs who understand that garbage equals dollars. The North American waste stream contains about $8 billion to $10 billion worth of valuables, said Wes Muir of Waste Management Canada, a private recycling and disposal company. A major challenge for municipalities is finding markets for recyclable materials. "Recycling has been around for three decades, but the problem is that end markets have not been established for many materials," said Muir. Thirty to 40 per cent of North American recycled materials are going to China, India and South America, where demand is growing. There is a booming market for aluminum cans -- which fetch the highest price of all materials -- as well as PET and HDPE plastics, Muir said. (See recycling marks graphic). There's a move in the municipal waste sector to find new ways of making money for towns and cities by encouraging companies to tap into the value of what society is throwing away. The more waste a municipality can sell, the less taxpayer dollars it has to spend to manage garbage. Hopefully consumers RICK MEDONIK / TORONTO STAR UPCYCING: Taking waste byproducts of one company's operation and turning them into another useful product can be both profitable and lessen the burden on our landfills. would buy in as well, leading to higher recycling rates and relieving the pressure on landfills. In the U.S., Texas-based Terrabon is developing technology that converts organic materials and commercial food wastes into organic salts, which is then made into a high-octane gasoline. It is using what's in our green bins. "In a world of diminishing landfill space it's important to find sustainable alternatives in dealing with waste," said Malcolm McNeill, the chief financial officer. The technology exists only on a demonstration scale, but when commercially ready it has the potential to process 800 tonnes of f wet waste a day -- the type of system that could some day pay to get Ontario's organic waste. The push to view waste as a resource -- instead of as a problem -- has also seen companies convert trash into new products, a model known as up-cycling. Toronto-based Therma Green Innovative Foam Technologies uses a byproduct of the manufacturer E.F. Walter Inc. to develop products such as holding ponds for irrigation, synthetic turf, landfill covers and liners as well as green roofs. They are made in part from the high-density polyethylene foam waste generated by E.F. Walter for a range of f industrial products. Therma Green is an example of how waste that's currently being landfilled could be profitably reused. Other companies are taking regular household consumer waste and flipping it. Terracycle, founded in 2001 by Princeton University freshman Tom Szaky, produces more than 1,500 products ranging from duffel bags made out of old Kool-Aid and Del Monte drink pouches to park benches and tables made from plastic containers. But these industries are in their infancy and municipalities need solutions now. See Manufacturers page 10 Make your Own ur o y e Hav rfectly pe e n i W for d e Ag s& a m t Chris Year's New Christmas Wine and Beer 10 off 25 off Prepared by you on site. one batch of wine or beer two batches of wine or beer Ein Stein Brew House 905-825-2337 Valid only with coupon until Sat. November 12, 2011. Not valid with any other offer f . $ $ n! I y r Hur ends Sale 12th Nov. Give the Gift of Wine, Great for entertaining! We also carry Gifts for the Wine Lover & Gift Certificates f VOTED O BEST BEER & WINE MAKING FACILITY IN OAKVILLE FOR 14 YEARS! North Service S i Rd. EIN STEIN Dorval 3rd Line e QEW Q.E.W. HOURS: MON. closed. TUES.-FRI. 12-8, SAT. A 9-5, SUN. 11-3 481 North Service r Rd. JUST WEST OF DORVAL V 905.825.BEER 2337 4th Line 481