In a presentation given at TEDx Fort McMurray, Kevin Scoble, director of the environmental services department at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, presented an innovative initiative that will help the municipality achieve its ambitious zero-waste goal.
The S.W.A.P. (Solid Waste Alternative Process) initiative will include:
- The adoption of new waste diversion processes that will enable new types of waste materials to be diverted from landfill and be used to produce local goods;
- The development of an eco-industrial park that will transform the diverted waste materials into new products;
- The construction of waste-to-energy facilities that will generate electricity and heat from waste materials that could not be diverted;
- The construction of greenhouses that will produce local vegetables and will be powered by waste heat from the waste-to-energy facilities;
- The development, in collaboration with the local college, of an integrated centre of excellence that will focus on R&D in waste management.
This waste management project is not only great for the environment but for the local economy as well. It is a shining example of how a municipality can foster green economic development by taking a truly integrated approach to waste management.
