Durham reo- ion mpy, be* locatio Tire, recycling plan panned By Milce Kowali Durham Region couid be the future site of a revoiutionary tir rocycling operation that its desig. ner daims poses no threat te the environmient. Aithou h some major hurdies must still be cleared, backers of this innovative proposai which uses microwaves te, burn - tires, are enthusiastic about its long * -range prospects. Wh itby businessman Art Robinson bas purchasod property in Durham Region for a future * facility and provided financial support for the proioct. ThRe Ontario Ministry of Energy has aiso providod $280,000 in funding towards the evontual $2.3-million cost of the two-phase projeet. And provincial environmient officiais h ave gran ted'the desig- ners permission te, demonstrate a small-scale version of their pro- ject. The recycling operation is the work of Emery Associates, a research and development firm based in the eastern Ontario tewn of Colborne. Company founder Dr. Charies Emery, is a reirecf engineering professor and founding principal of Waterloo University. He came ont of retirement te form bis company because of a deep, personal concern about the environmient and tbe growing probiem o waste disposai. «Ithought I sbouid see what I Could do te beip solve the pro- biem,» said Emieiy. wbo began working on big project two years ago,"way before we heard of Hersvile. (Emey was referring te the two-wek-old fire wbicb, has been burning away in a Hagersvilie, Ont. dump containing 14 million used automobile tires. The fire foroed almost 500 peojple from their bornes and officiais esti- mate it will take at ioast a month te, extinguish the blaze.) As Eiery expiained, bis inven- tion --the meryBiomass Reduction Unit -- is not a tradi- tional furnace wbich burns gar- bag t high temperatures. "Ths is a low-temperature microwave process that is dlean burning, there are no emissions inte the atmosphere.» Ho said a functioning unit wouid'be'capable of handling 3,00tires aday. «Essentiaily, what we're doing 18 reversing tbe process of mak- ing a tire, were breaking down the bonds in synthetic rubber. «We end up with oil, carbon black, steel and dlean suiphur wbich can ail be separated and reused.» Emery said bis design bas proven successful at the «lbora- tory stage" and now awaits an actuai demonstration. The Ontario environmient miniUstryas granted approval for a domonstration unit te, be bujît in Coiborne and Emery expects it te be ready for testing by mid-March. Paul Shervill, executive co- orcinator of the energy minis- try's programs and- technology bran i teld The---ree-Pr-ss.the government bas not yet signed a. contract with Emery but that it was only a forrnality. Shervili said the government bas committed $280000 towards the $710,000 cost of the project's first phase. How much more the govern- ment will contribute depends on the outcome of phase one. As Shervili expiained, the first stage will allow Emeyte build a prototp commercial unit cap- able ofprocessing eight tires at a time. Resuits from this testingwi11 form the basis of a feasiblity study which will determine wbether te proceed te phase two which is the actual design and construction of a commercial plant. Shervill said the government's,, interest in Emery's proposai should be obvions. "We've got 6.3.million tires, a year goinig into Ontario landfil sites, that takes up spaoe and is a tremendous waste orfenergy. "If you took these tires and fput them tbrough Dr. Emery's pro- cess we could recover a quarter million barrels- of oil a year, 48,000 metric tens of carbon blackÎ and 4,000 metric tons of steel. "This offers hope for some son- ous opportunity te solve our waste problem and recover Shervili was aware of only one recycling plant in North America whicb uses a microwave process. That company is iocated in Lincoîn, Nebraska, but its method is «quite different» from Emery's. ."Tbey're using a de-vulcaniz- igprocess te recover high-grade 4 ýber,»" said Shervili. «What's unique about this one is that it's done in an airtight atmosphere that red uces omissions." Shervili is hopeful phase one of Emery's project 15 underway by the end of Marcb. Ho expects it will take 1.8 months for its dom- pletion. Emery, meanwhile, has not yet solicite any potential buyers of bis design, but said several municipalities have expressed interest. «We don't want te, appro'ach anyone until we are sure it works and that At wouid be economical te build a fuil-scale plant.» 1Emory,» said a' 1500- "'te 20,000-sq. ft. structure would be required te bouse the ec&upment used te burn plot only tires, but other types of waste. Ho said research and deveiop- ment of bis proposai «bas pro- bably cost us about baif a miilon dollars so far. Art Robinson, owner of Art's Auto Wreckers in Whitb , said ho became involved in mýepxs' F « ta.1 because we r coeongfor arpiyace te dispose of our tires.» Ho noted that neither Durham SEE PAGE 8 GEORGEM[LSH reads oath of office as ho becomes the newest Whitby trustee on the Durham Board of Education. Peter Tomin-Fr.. Pr. photo Geore Mioehis n:ew trustee. B ~Trudie Zavadovica A Whitby father of four was selocted from among 38 appli- cants vying for the position of Durhamn public scbool board trustee. George Milosb, 43, was sworn in as the board's newest truste Monday nigbt, filling the vacancy lefi two weeks ago by Wbitby trustee John Buchanan, foroed to lbave the board due te, absenteeism. Twenty five of the 41 appli- cants were from Wbitby. Milosb bas four cbildren attending Whitby's Glen Dhu public school. Hoebas a business background in restauranting and reai estate and aiso worked for two years witb the Durham In- dustry'Education Council whore, ho says «I got my flirst taste of tbe word of education.» During bis 10-minute inter- view, Mîlosb said it was im~por- tant te "stress the basica" in education and that be would like te see business take a more extensive role in education in tbe future. «I'd like te see a groater in- volvement from business. It's already happening,» says Milosh. "Some assistance we might need, may be in the form of monies.» Milosb says ho is ecstatic te have been chosen te fil the vacancyr. "I have an interest in educa- tion and I think this is one of the geatst boards in Ontario. This oard is doing a great job in the community. I hope I can foilow in that same step.» Ian Brown, chairinan of the board, said ho was exbausted after spending the wbole day interviewing applicants but feit good about the outcome and the process. "I think the process was goodl. Everybody got a fair bearing. I was împressed witb the diversitv. calibre and quality of the candidates. George bas a good mix of experience in busi- ness and as a parent. 1 look forward te working with bim.» Tbe 38 candidates interviewed were eacb allotted 10 minutes te speak. They were allowed te make a five-niinute presentation with the other five minutes te, answor questions from the trus- tees. There was a conimittee of eight trustees involved in the inter- viewing process. (Ian Brown and Paty Bwman, both Whitby trustees, were present). After istening te ail the appli- cants, the trustees eacb cast a secret ballot listing their three choices for the Position. Prom that, the list was narrowed te the 10 ten applicants witb tbe most votes. Eacb trustee thon cast a secret ballot for one of the 10 applicants. The list was thon narrowed te the top tbree candi- dates. The trustees voted agin narrowingitbe iist te two cni dates, folowed b the final vote that 'saw Milosh declared tbe winner The committee thon made SEF PA Gx8 Whitby Irecognizes 2 languages SS Spage 9 Debate over budget SS page 28