$10.8 Million Awarded for Development of Central Materials Recovery Facility

Waste management in the central region will be transformed through the development of a new materials recovery facility at the Norris Arm Waste Disposal Site, which will divert recyclable materials from the landfill. This work is set to begin shortly with the awarding of a number of key contracts for the project valued at $10.8 million.

“These tenders represent an important step forward in waste management activity for the central portion of the island, and will see an investment of $10.8 million from the Provincial Government,” said the Honourable Kevin O’Brien, Minister of Municipal Affairs. “This new facility is an important part of our Provincial Waste Management Strategy, and will assist with our efforts to divert 50 per cent of waste from our landfill sites by 2015. It will support the efforts of our Central Regional Service Board as it continues to build recycling programs across the region.”

The new materials recovery facility will receive and process recyclable materials including paper and container products from communities in the central regions, and will send these materials to recycling markets where they will be turned into new products.

Contracts which have been awarded are:

• $7.3 million awarded to Machinex Industries Inc. for the provision of sorting and recycling equipment;
• $2.9 million awarded to Can-Am Platforms and Construction Ltd. for the provision of pre-engineered building foundations and envelope; and,
• $551,000 awarded to Penney Paving Ltd. for site grading work.

The Provincial Solid Waste Management Strategy aims to reduce the amount of materials in provincial landfill sites by 50 per cent and to encourage residents of Newfoundland and Labrador to participate in waste diversion programs such as recycling and composting. The strategy also aims to reduce the total number of waste disposal sites by 80 per cent, eliminate open burning of waste at disposal sites and phase out incinerators and unlined landfills. Full implementation of the strategy is on target for 2020. A total of $145.3 million has been invested in the strategy in the province, $82.8 million by the Provincial Government and $62.5 million from Gas Tax funding.

“The new Materials Recovery Facility is an important part of our strategy in the central region of the island,” said Allan Scott, Chair of the Central Regional Service Board. “When this new facility is completed, the Norris Arm site will become a model for modern and environmentally-sound waste management technologies.”

Additional contracts which will be awarded throughout 2013 and into 2014 will cover such items as building interior work, site paving, site services and other key pieces of processing equipment for the facility.

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2013 06 13                             11:20 a.m.