Recycling and Waste Management

Biography

Biography: M. Yves Noel

Abstract

Managing the industrial, commercial and residential plastic wastes is a real concern today.  For many decades. the only solution to manage waste was to send it to landfill or incineration centers. Now, many landfills are close to capacity and according to BAPE, over 20% of all landfills in Quebec will reach their capacity limit capacity by 2030.  In Ontario for example, the province has long been exporting nearly a third of its trash to the U.S. due to lower disposal costs in states like Michigan and New York.What alternatives can be considered to divert plastic waste from landfill in an environmentally responsible manner?  One promising possibility can be found in applying pyrolysis technology to process plastic waste into usable energy products in a manner that also reduces GHG. Ultrafima (a Quebec company) and Crown Mark Energy (an Ontario company) have been working together for many years to develop a proprietary pyrolysis process that can be applied to the North American standards.  Although the pyrolysis concept itself is not new, identifying the correct properties of plastic wastes to produce a saleable energy product require many variables to be considered and tested.  Their proprietary process has resulted in a GHG reducing process that produces marketable low carbon intensity energy products from plastic waste.Molecular recycling technologies can be the last step before landfilling. Over 90% of plastic wastes in Canada are currently ending up in landfill with only 8-10% currently captured with the 3RV.  Pyrolysis solutions can be implemented today and can have a positive impact in the future of waste management