Partners in Project Green launches materials exchange

Partners in Project Green has launched a new By-Product Materials Exchange Program. The program will help manufacturers within Toronto’s Pearson Eco-Business Zone adopt the 4Rs of waste management (refuse, reduce, re-use, recycle) by facilitating by-product material exchange opportunities.

The program was developed in recognition of a lack of understanding surrounding existing solid waste management systems in the industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) sector, as well as of the techniques used to track, reduce and ultimately divert waste. Partners in Project Green hopes the program will help companies find solutions for problematic wastes and establish successful and lasting waste exchange relationships for companies.

“This initiative will help local companies identify alternative destinations for their wastes, while reducing costs and potentially generating new revenues,” said Region of Peel councillor John Sanderson. “This is an innovative way to not only reduce waste in the region, but more importantly help our local companies become more productive and competitive in global markets.”

Over the next few months, Partners in Project Green will embark on the first phase of the program, which will establish a preliminary group of participating companies in the manufacturing, waste management and construction and infrastructure sectors. Companies agreeing to participate in the program will provide selected waste data that will be entered into an online tool that Partners in Project Green will use to identify potential waste synergies. Once potential synergies are identified, participating companies will be connected to their prospective partners to discuss the feasibility of each synergy and negotiate terms.

“The program will help companies reduce their environmental footprint, while saving money on waste disposal fees,” said Chris Rickett, senior project manager with Partners in Project Green. “An added benefit is that the program will provide insight into the waste behaviours of companies within the Pearson Eco-Business Zone that will inform our programming, helping us to better identify ways for companies to reduce resource consumption.”

The program has been developed with the assistance of the University of Waterloo and Centre de transfert technologique en ecologie industrielle (CTTÉI), a Quebec-based research center that specializes in industrial ecology and focuses on technical training and facilitation of by-product exchanges in Quebec. Other partners include the Region of Peel, City of Toronto, City of Brampton and City of Mississauga