Zero Waste
A Pioneer in the Waste and Recycling Industry
Within the waste and recycling industry, new and exciting changes are always at the forefront of our business. We advance with new technologies, which we then pass on to our customers, excelling ahead of our competitors.
Environmental Sustainability Governance
The Waste Hierarchy
– Environmental Responsibility
Designed to show the most environmentally preferable options for managing waste, the waste hierarchy emphasizes reducing, reusing, and recycling the majority of waste (the 3 R’s). The fourth R – energy recovery – is the environmentally preferable route for solid wastes that are neither reusable nor recyclable. From an environmental standpoint, landfilling is the least preferred option. Energy from Waste is part of any waste generator’s zero waste goal.
Greenhouse Gas Reductions
– Environmental Responsibility
For a waste generator in the Greater Toronto Area, the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from utilizing the EEFW instead of landfilling ranges from 2.6 to nearly 5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per tonne of waste, depending on if the location of the landfill used for comparison (i.e., southwestern Ontario).
The calculations on GHG emission reductions from the EEFW were based on protocols established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Environment Canada, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Under emissions trading programs around the world, a company would be able to sell the GHG credits generated from utilizing EEFW instead of landfilling.
Local Jobs
– Social Responsibility
Waste generators that utilize the EEFW contribute to local jobs and the green economy. The facility employs over 50 well-paid professionals. The steam generated from the facility is sold to a neighbouring paper mill that produces new paper products from recycled paper, helping ensure more green jobs stay in the Greater Toronto Area. The EEFW can also generate up to 9 MW of electricity, which is enough to power up to 6,000 homes.
Local Solution
– Social Responsibility
Studies and experience have shown that no community wants to be a dumping ground for outside waste. Transporting waste in large transfer trailers for hours along major Ontario highways to landfills in southwestern Ontario, New York State, or Michigan is not a long-term, sustainable solution to managing waste.
The EEFW, situated in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area, provides companies and municipalities with a local solution that does not congest Ontario’s highways with more truck traffic nor dump a waste problem on a remote community.
Clean Energy
– Environmental Responsibility
The EEFW facility utilizes an advanced two-stage combustion process, state-of-the-art pollution control technologies, and real-time emission monitoring to ensure the exhaust from the facility is well within the stringent emission standards set by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, which are considered one of the most rigid standards in the world. The Ontario emission standards are very similar to those used in the United States and Europe and have been amended several times since the facility was commissioned in 1992. The EEFW has complied with the changing standards throughout its working life.
People attending the EEFW for tours say that no visible exhaust can be seen from the facility’s stack.
Sustainable Waste Solution
– Environmental, Social, and Ethical Responsibility
Utilizing the EEFW means secure destruction of waste, recovery of its energy, and no long-lasting legacy issues. A typical landfill has a life span of 25 years, after which long-term monitoring of potential leakage is required.
Save Money While Saving The Planet
Contact our team of experts at 416-675-3700 or email us at customerservice@upak.net today to learn how we can transform your garbage pickup.
