Written by Dennis Liu, Four Green Steps

Ottawa’s new waste solution is in the form of a long term management program-a deal that has been struck between the Ottawa city council and the environmentally conscious organization, Plasco Energy Group. The group proposes to eliminate the increasing waste using a method that would not only benefit the environment by lightening the load on Ottawa’s current landfills, but also save millions in the tax dollars of Canadians.

Plasco Energy Group is not an entirely unknown player in the global race to save the environment. The history of its formation goes back to April of 2005, with the merger of two companies. It is now fronted by president and CEO Rod Bryden who had previously owned the Ottawa Senators. The philosophy and goal of Plasco Energy Group has always been to find a environmentally friendly waste treatment process to tackle the simmering issue of managing the waste produced by the residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors of the city. It is an immense undertaking that holds the promise of reaching to the whole nation, should the implementation of the plan prove successful in the Ottawa area. Bryden has thus been working closely with the Ottawa city council’s environmental committee, headed by Maria McRae, who is also a major supporter of Plasco Energy Group and its ambitious waste management plan. The committee decided almost unanimously (only one member voted against the proposal) to endorse and work with the company for a planned twenty year period in an attempt to solve the waste issue.

This long term plan entails the daily disposal of 300 tonnes of residential waste using the “plasma gasification process” developed by the company. The projected cost of the treatment is $83.25 per tonne of waste. However, Plasco Energy Group has not yet perfected their technology for commercial use and thus must continue its development in a bid to secure financing for the project by 2013 and complete the construction of the group’s waste-processing plant by 2016, as the final outcome of the deal between the group and the city hinges upon the meeting of these deadlines. However, achieving perfection in the technology may be easier said than done. Backed by sound scientific knowledge, plasma gasification is likely more complex then it appears. It is a technology that utilizes an “electric arc gasifier” in a plasma converter, which directs electricity and heat to decompose wastes and subsequently separates them into elemental gases and solid material. Plasco Energy Group has been conducting tests ever since 2007, but it has yet to yield results that would prove the technology’s capability to handle the requested amount of waste.

Currently, there are two main landfills for the Ottawa area: both of these sites faces the possibility of being filled completely in six to 15 years. If Plasco Energy Group is unable to produce satisfactory result in their waste treatment plan, the city may have to resort to using additional landfills. As of now, the best way to help the environment would be for the individuals to develop a keen awareness and try to better manage their own waste and recycling in order to save our planet.

Image via plascoenergygroup.com

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