Niagara to Recycle Waste Materials from old Landfill and Create new Pollination Site
niagarathisweek.com
Many reusable things still end up in landfills despite the recent boom in green bin distribution across Canada, but Niagara’s waste management innovator Walker Environmental has found another way to put loads of discarded materials to better use - and it’s starting with its retired landfill.
The Niagara region has begun to compost its organic waste, mainly yard scraps and leftover food products, with its ongoing green bin program. Residents put their biodegradable garbage into their green bins and put it out with the rest of their trash on garbage collection day. From there, the green bins are picked up and their contents are brought to the Niagara-Thorold border compost facility to be turned into soil. This is just one of the many renewable resource businesses in the area.
The region’s newest concept, however, is certainly the most interesting. Ontario’s environment ministry has given Niagara the green light to use its old landfill area as a harvesting site for reusable materials, keeping more things out of landfills and preventing damage to other open spaces. Because the waste pile at the site is almost at full capacity, its use has been discontinued until now.
Among the materials collected will be old wood, discarded shingles, and railway ties, all of which can be pulverized for use in energy production, construction work, and compost soil. The wood can be burned as is in place of coal, while recovered shingles may serve as a type of asphalt for new roads. The waste collection company is still testing this theory and has not yet confirmed if it’s possible.
Amazingly, the innovation doesn’t stop there. Walker Environmental is currently experimenting with the potential of planting seeds in the landfill pile to grow crops that can be used to feed livestock on farms. Even better is the company’s plan to designate a section of the landfill to a new home for pollinators - mainly bees and butterflies - that have been experiencing mass deaths from plants sprayed with pest repellent and habitat destruction. The landfill is conveniently in close proximity to a Niagara College campus that is running a beekeeping program, which is expected to boost the popularity of the site among the bee population.
All of these recently discovered uses for common landfill materials offer the region new products, better land usage, and a significant reduction in its greenhouse gases give off. It decreases Niagara’s contribution to global warming and makes for a much cleaner, safer area overall. Walker Environmental and its partners plan to continue their eco-friendly efforts.
