A recycling processing depot with the potential to employ up to 20 people, may soon be set up in Rimbey.
At its meeting March 25, council agreed to instruct administration to begin negotiations with SLC Canada regarding the purchase or lease of two parcels of unserviced land (approximately 20 acres) north of the recycling centre.
Esam Wshah, the company’s president and CEO told council the company wants to set up the depot in Rimbey.
“We have a market for tire chips and plastics as well as other recyclables in the area between Edmonton and Calgary.”
He said his company treats tires, plastics, food, organics, chemicals, wood and other liquid and solid wastes. Projects the company is currently involved in include municipal and hospital wastes, oil sludge processing, water treatment for oil and gas sectors, heavy oil upgrading and oil sands/oil shale development that use the proprietary technologies.
“We are currently in the process of negotiating more projects in oil sludge recovery, contaminated soil remediation and solid and liquid wastes.”
He noted solid wastes from the agricultural, medical and municipal sectors and liquid wastes from sewage, industry and refinery oil sludge are important sources of bio-energy and valuable products.
He added using landfills to handle these wastes can create unpleasant odors, pollute the air, be poisonous to the aquifers, pollute the soil, reduce land prices in the surrounding areas.
Wshah explained SLC uses a process called thermal reaction drum (TRD) technology in which heat is applied to solid and liquid wastes in the absence of oxygen. Water suitable for irrigation purposes and clean black granules result from the process.
“Our process doesn’t need up-front separation or segregation. We take the wastes as is from the source. The town can run any separation or segregation process for metal, glass and any other material and sell it directly without our involvement,” he said.
The company charges tipping fees for the treatment process.
SLC is based in Calgary and is developing joint ventures throughout Canada, the United States, Russia and the Middle East.
Assistant CEO Melisa Beebe said administration will begin negotiations with SLC as early as this week.