A study which could see Warwick Township become a recycling centre for the province is moving ahead.
Warwick is working with the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership to position its industrial park as an incubator for new recycling projects.
The Ontario government wants to create a circular economy. Instead of producing items, using them and throwing them into the landfill, the province wants to see all kinds of items repurposed to keep them out of the dump.
Mayor Todd Case says with one of the largest landfills in Ontario in the municipality, there is an opportunity to take advantage of the idea.
Matthew Slotwinski of SLEP adds the 40-acre industrial park, right beside the landfill, has a large building which could be used for emerging business or research and development into new recycling technologies.
Slotwinski says the market value of waste in Canada is over one billion dollars and only a quarter of the waste being produced is being redirected to other uses.
So, the township applied for and received a Rural Economic Development grant from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The township has hired a consultant to look at the possibilities for them.
Officials also expect this could be a job creator. There may be as many as seven jobs created for every 1,000 tonnes of waste recycled.”
Case says the consultants have already begun their work and a study could be complete in as little as six months. “The sooner they can get that done the better,” says Case. “We believe there is a huge market opportunity with diversion.
“This is a really good opportunity for us and we are out ahead of it. No one else is doing this.”