At the Rochester-based solid waste and recycling facility Zero Waste Solutions, that ‘zero waste’ goal could be just around the corner.
Mike Camara, CEO of ABC Disposal, Inc., parent company of the recycling facility off Cranberry Highway, on March 19 was before the Rochester Board of Selectmen accompanied by David McConnell of ENERKEM, a Canadian company that converts solid waste into biofuel, to discuss a partnership that Camara said would be perfect for the recycling plant and perfect for Rochester.
Based in Montreal, Quebec, EVERKEM is a sustainable waste management company that converts municipal waste into liquid fuel with a ‘biorefinery’ operation that is the first of its kind. EVERKEM developed the technology that is clean and minimizes waste going to the landfill, and it could be coming to Rochester.
McConnell said that this is “game-changing technology” that employs no-burn proprietary thermochemical technology to turn trash into the biofuel cellulosic ethanol.
At its Edmonton, Alberta facility, 100,000 tons of trash are converted into 10 million gallons of cellulose and ethanol, said McConnell, with very little post-processing waste left for the landfill. It’s a four-step process, McConnell said. First, municipal waste is sorted and shredded. It is then fed into a gasifier where it is heated and thermally decomposed producing ‘syngas,’ or pure synthesis gas that is further purified to make biofuels like methanol and ethanol.
“Our process [produces] sixty percent less greenhouse gas emissions when comparing it to fossil fuel gasoline,” said McConnell.
Still rebuilding after a fire halted the facility’s construction before its operations even got started, Zero Waste was slated to convert solid waste into solid biofuel briquettes that burn like coal only cleaner and deemed non-hazardous by the Environmental Protection Agency. But Camara said that is no longer an option because the two coal-fired plants in southern New Hampshire that would have bought the briquettes are shutting down.
Camara said an ENERKEM facility similar to the one in Edmonton that processes 350 tons of solid waste per day would fit nicely on the back end of Zero Waste’s recycling process.
“I like the fact that we wouldn’t have to move the waste off the property,” said Camara. The biofuel would be manufactured right onsite, with the use of reclaimed water for processing the biofuel, which will likely come from the Wareham wastewater treatment plant, said McConnell.
McConnell used an ENERKEM facility planned in Minnesota as an example of how economically viable the project is also. The Minnesota plant, he said, would create 700 construction jobs over a 15-month construction timeframe, bringing $190 million in revenue to that region. McConnell said 100 permanent jobs would be created and bring in $129 million annually. A plant in Rochester would be similar in scope, he said.
“It’s got a huge impact on the community,” McConnell said. “And we don’t just come in…. We set up a community outreach program so that everyone understands the project.”
The solid waste collection, according to McConnell, is “very cost competitive,” as Rochester searches for a cost-efficient way to handle its municipal waste.
“The issue in Massachusetts is, a lot of landfills are closing and so they need an alternative to manage waste,” said Camara. He said he preferred to approach the selectmen before proceeding with any further exploration with ENERKEM, but that ENERKEM would be “a good fit” for the region.
It could take upwards of three years for the engineering, permitting, and construction of such a biorefinery, said McConnell. The permitting process for an ENERKEM plant slated for California could take seven years to complete, he said, and likely only one year in Minnesota.
“If you can do it, that’s great,” said Selectman Greenwood Hartley, adding that from what he heard that night, “You’re not rookies at this.”
With an ENERKEM biorefinery nearby, Camara said Zero Waste could reach a minimum of 90 to 95 percent waste-free.
“Which would be the first in the country, and that’s been the goal all along,” Camara said.
In other matters, Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar said she should have a definite date for the town to switch over to the regionalized 911 dispatch based in Duxbury. All the equipment upgrades have been installed at the ROCCC headquarters, and the repeaters and other equipment in Rochester will be installed “soon,” said Szyndlar.
“Everything’s on target right now,” Szyndlar said, “So it’s progressing nicely.”
The selectmen set the date for the Annual Town Meeting for May 21 at 6:30 pm at Rochester Memorial School.
The Verizon contract public hearing was again continued until May 7. The board also tabled discussion on a conservation restriction until the next meeting.
The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for April 2 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
Rochester Board of Selectmen
By Jean Perry