Canadian Biomass • Summer 2021 • Editorial

Pilot project in Inuvik just one more example of the benefits the bioeconomy can bring

There aren’t many eyesores on this earth that are worse than a landfill. Unfortunately, they’re a necessary component of our way of life. Still, they’re ugly, smelly, they produce methane gas, attract vermin, and the list of negative attributes goes on and on.

Landfills are also a magnet for materials that should never be there in the first place. Waste products that can and should instead by recycled continue to make their way to landfills, which not only contributes to the aforementioned problems, but unnecessarily shortens the capacity and lifespan of these sites.

In Inuvik, N.W.T., about 100 tonnes of cardboard finds its way each year to the local landfill. Cardboard is a material normally recycled in most Canadian communities – a practice which greatly lessens the amount that finds its way to a landfill, but that hasn’t been the case in Inuvik. The nearest recycling facilities are a day’s drive away, and the costs of trucking cardboard and other recyclable waste makes the effort impractical.

A simple solution has been conceived that is killing two birds with one stone in Canada’s far North.

Approximately 60 per cent of all waste cardboard from the community is being diverted from the landfill – not to be recycled, but repurposed for practical use.

The Aurora Research Institute in Inuvik has embarked on a project that turns most of the community’s waste cardboard into pellets, thereby reducing the amount of landfill- bound waste and contributing to a useful source of fuel for heating.

The four-year-old project is showing tremendous promise. Blended with wood pellets, the cardboard pellets – even at only five per cent of the mix – are playing an important role in the area’s growing heating market.

Interestingly, the research project’s original intent was to look at plastic waste before the focus was redirected toward cardboard. In hindsight, it would seem the research team made the wiser decision.

Accessing waste cardboard isn’t as daunting a task as it might seem. Businesses such as grocery stores and others that deal regularly with cardboard packaging are eager to contribute their cardboard for pellet manufacturing rather than paying tipping fees for disposal at the landfill. It has become a win-win situation for all parties.

The process involved in manufacturing cardboard pellets has its similarities to wood pellet manufacturing as well as its differences. This has been the focus for much of the research. Read the story in this issue on page 10 to learn the science behind processing waste cardboard into pellets.

More good news from this research project is that the cardboard pellet production is poised to be turned over to the private sector so that a continuous output of this supplemental fuel source can be realized in perpetuity. This means job creation for members of the community – another plus.

It’s amazing what a little ingenuity can do. This is a great example of a project that has addressed an environmental concern, has turned an otherwise useless product into one of value, and has positively contributed to a community’s employment picture.