The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor One city's trash could be another's source of energy as technology evolves _ but will Flin Flon be a benefactor? In May 2008, the City of Flin Flon reached an agreement with a Regina-based company, Prairie Biogas Ltd. (PBL), to review whether a biofuel plant makes sense for the community. Fueled by most types of household garbage, the plant would generate synthetic heating oil ready for use on its own or to be blended with diesel fuel. There was even the potential for electricity production. Though things with PBL subsequently fizzled, Coun. Bill Hanson said city council remains keen on the type of technology the company was touting. 'We would definitely be interested,' he said, adding, however, that there are no talks underway with PBL or other companies at this time. Coun. Hanson's enthusiasm is not surprising. Garbage is not just an environmental concern for the city; it is also a major cost item. And that cost could grow higher as government regulations tighten and space at the municipal landfill becomes increasingly scarce. Last year, council, under orders from the Manitoba government, voted to spend nearly $70,000 on a study to examine the environmental impact and remaining lifespan of the landfill. Mayor George Fontaine has said the province is 'pushing towards' the merger of community landfills and he fears Flin Flon might eventually be forced to ship its garbage to a dump in The Pas _ a 'totally unaffordable option.' When PBL came knocking in 2008, the previous council, which included both Hanson and Fontaine, was extremely receptive. PBL had talked about constructing the biofuel plant _ up to 8,000 sq. ft in size _ on its own dime. The company's profit would come from selling the synthetic oil and, potentially, energy from the plant. The plant would utilize a low-temperature pyrolysis process that heats garbage inside of a vacuum. This breaks down carbon-containing material into its original components, extracting the gas from within. This produces market-ready heating oil, Jim Ireland, president of PBL, told The Reminder in 2008. See 'Provide..' on pg. 6 Continued from pg. 1 'The idea is we would provide heating oil that can be used locally at a price cost competitive with other fuels,' he said. 'And being able to produce it in the Flin Flon-Creighton area, if you can market it locally there, well you automatically save all the transportation costs because you don't have to move it 800 kilometres to get to Flin Flon.' Ireland said the pyrolysis process can also yield a substance called biochar, which may be used as a coal substitute to generate electricity, or as a crop fertilizer. With the exceptions of glass and metal, Ireland said the plant would accept virtually all of the trash residents throw away _ including that which is already at the dump. In rough terms, the plant would have yielded about 100 litres of fuel for every tonne of garbage taken in. Ireland was convinced that projects like this would be commonplace across the country by 2018. At one point there was talk that Flin Flon could have a biofuel plant as early as 2009, but that failed to materialize. Coun. Hanson said his understanding is that PBL went out of business following the 2008 recession. As far as he knew, it was no longer operational. But PBL still has a website up, and when The Reminder phoned the listed number, the man who answered said the line belonged to PBL. However, the man's phone kept cutting in and out, making him impossible to understand. He did not call The Reminder back when the conversation ended, and an e-mail sent to PBL was not returned. Regardless of the status of PBL, the company is certainly no longer in talks with Flin Flon. 'We didn't get very far along in the process other than the study,' Coun. Hanson said.
