NORTHERN ONTARIO—The Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA) announced recently it has reached a partnership agreement with Waste Energy Solutions and Technologies (WEST Inc.) to turn waste agricultural plastic into renewable energy.
“We are really happy to be working with WEST and is a model for creating renewable energy into renewable energy products,” stated Leia Weaver, project development advisor for NOFIA, last week. “Our focus is aggregation sites so Northern Ontario farms are able to bring their agriculture plastic materials. We provide farms with free compactors that they put their bales of plastics into, and transport them to end users.”
“WEST has a commitment to plastics and wood waste along with other streams,” said Mathieu Gagnon, CEO and Founder of Waste Energy Solutions. “With this project it avoids farmers having to take these agricultural products to the landfill. Instead, with our concept it is used for renewable user gas.”
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WEST is a green-tech company, with a presence in Sudbury and on Manitoulin Island, that uses thermal dissociation anoxic (TDA) technology to break down waste plastic and transform it into gas, which can then be used to produce energy, heating or cooling.
Under the agreement, Northern Ontario farmers will collect their plastic waste in a wooden compactor, and the bales will then be shipped to WEST’s facility for recycling, said Ms. Weaver. Through the course of NOFIA’s plastics recycling project, which was launched in 2020, wooden compactors have been placed with individual farmers and at communal sites across the North, where producers can bring their unwanted plastics for collection.
“Currently, we have 41 partners,” said NOFIA. “With the addition of 10 compactors confirmed in the last six months, the programs’ expansion will enhance the efficiency of plastic collection in Northern Ontario. To date, in this phase of the program, a total of 59 compacted bales have been recycled, reducing improper disposal of plastics by approximately 27 metric tons. NOFIA aims to continue expanding this program, providing these compactors free of charge to farmers and producers, thanks to the received Ontario Agric-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) funding. Any interested partners are encouraged to contact NOFIA or visit www.farmnorth.com to learn how to participate in the program.”
With an aim to broaden accessibility, the program is actively seeking partnerships within Northern Ontario municipalities to establish central aggregation sites. These sites will cater to smaller-scale agriculture, horticultural and aquaculture operations that may lack the resources of equipment for on-site compaction, NOFIA reported.
“A significant milestone for the project is the newly established partnership with (WEST) an advanced recycling facility located on Manitoulin Island. The organization offers innovative, scalable waste technology solutions,” NOFIA reported. “This collaboration created a closed-loop system, ensuring that collected agricultural plastics are processed and repurposed within the region. This partnership has also enabled the program to expand its scope to include the recycling of horticulture and aquaculture plastics further diversifying its environmental impact.”
“The expansion of our plastics project, with the addition of more compactors and municipal partnerships, emphasizes our dedication to creating a sustainable agricultural sector in Northern Ontario,” said Yves Gauthier, president, NOFIA board of directors. “The collaboration with (WEST) recycling facility is a testament to the potential for local solutions.”
Details about the site are expected in the coming months, but the site is expected to receive a variety of plastics, including dual-sided plastic and bale wrap, as well as horticulture plastics.
