Resources - Industry Profiles - Ontario's Solid Waste Management Industry

Ontario's Solid Waste Management Industry

A World of Solutions

Solid waste is one of the biggest challenges facing society today. In North America, nearly a ton of waste materials per person is landfilled every year. In Europe, it's 3.5 tons. And as the world's population grows and the consumption of goods increases, pressure to come up with sustainable solutions is mounting.

Governments and industries from Europe to Asia, Australia to Africa, are looking to Ontario-based companies for help.

That's because our industry is recognized as a leader in solid waste management with solutions that are reliable, cost-effective and meet - and often exceed - the strictest industry standards and regulatory requirements. Our expertise is highly diversified and includes:

equipment and products like bailers, compactors, shredders, incinerators and autoclaves
services like collection, transport, disposal for recycling or reuse, landfill design, operations and remediation
technologies like biomass co-generation, pyrolysis, reverse polymerization, thermal treatment oxidization and steam sterilization; analytical software.

Ontario companies are experienced at adapting their solutions to local solid waste challenges.

Benefit from our experience...

Innovation a key to success

Ontario has long grappled with the challenges of solid waste management that come with being a consumer society. Our industry has responded by developing innovative technologies and products and services to minimize the problem, through waste prevention, reuse, recovery and recycling. And today, they're exporting that expertise to solve solid waste problems in every corner of the world.

Ontario-based companies benefit from an R&D environment that includes exceptional minds working in a collaborative environment at world-class research centres, focussed on getting new solutions to the marketplace - and quickly.

A reputation for quality and service

Ontario's solid waste management industry has a well-earned reputation for producing quality products and delivering outstanding service.

It all comes down to people. Ontario's respected universities and colleges excel at producing well-educated, skilled, reliable workers, who go on to work at companies that understand the importance of developing, nurturing, and retaining customer relationships, as well as providing leading-edge solutions.

Put our innovation to work for you.

Ontario solid waste management companies are providing a world of solutions.

Shred-Tech tackles the toughest solid waste problems

"Anything that's destined for recycling needs to be shredded," says Sean Richter, senior technical salesman at Shred-Tech, "and we're the company to do it." The Cambridge, Ontario-based firm's many clients worldwide agree. Shred-Tech began by building stationary shredders more than 30 years ago. Today, it's the world leader in reduction systems and shredding machinery with machines that slice up paper, plastics, tires, medical waste, auto parts and electronics. "We saw an opportunity early on and ran with it," says Richter, "and we've been running ever since, branching out into new areas, continuously improving our products and recording double-digit growth every year." Richter attributes the company's success to its focus on innovation. Shred-Tech designed and manufactured the world's first mobile document shredding truck in the late 1980s and has introduced one innovation after another since then. "We're fortunate to have access to some of the world's brightest engineers and engineering technologists here in Ontario and they're what keep us at the leading-edge."

Plasco Energy Group's zero waste solution

Municipalities from the U.S. to Japan and China to Spain are knocking on Plasco Energy Group's door because the Ottawa, Ontario-based company has a unique solution for dealing with solid waste. Plasco builds, owns and operates facilities that use its proprietary plasma technology to convert municipal household, commercial and industrial waste into green power and other valuable products, including clean water. And because the facilities are built in identical 100 tonne-per-day modules, a facility can be up and running in just 15 months. "No one is doing what we're doing," says Plasco CEO Rod Bryden. "It's an elegant solution to the growing problems of distributed energy and waste recovery." Bryden cites the company's innovative technology, the product of R&D conducted in Ontario, and its access to the province's complex manufacturing capacity, including a top-notch labour force, as key reasons for success. "We're also focussed on continuous improvement of the technology and developing new applications for it, such as converting other feed stocks into energy."

SENES takes Ontario environmental excellence worldwide

SENES Consultants prides itself on providing its clients with state-of-the-art expertise that meets their needs, wherever they're located. Headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario, the environmental consulting firm got its start in 1980 when solid waste was beginning to be recognized as a growing problem in North America - and the company's services have expanded and diversified as demand for environmental solutions has grown. SENES now has a staff of 250+ engineers who have completed thousands of projects in 50+ countries. "There's no secret to our success," says Associate Partner Murali Ganapathy. "We deliver state-of-the-art solutions and outstanding service at a competitive cost." Ganapathy credits the company's Ontario location for a great deal of its success. "We have access to brilliant engineering talent coming out of our universities," he says, "and their cultural diversity makes it possible for us to work virtually anywhere in the world in the language and culture of our clients. That's a huge advantage."

Find out more about our solid waste disposal expertise

Ontario Environment Business Directory - www.envirodirectory.on.ca
Ontario Ministry of the Environment - www.ene.gov.on.ca
Ontario Centres of Excellence - Centre of Excellence for Earth and Environmental Technologies - www.oce-ontario.org
Ontario Environment Industry Association - www.oneia.ca
Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement - www.oceta.on.ca

We connect companies around the world with Ontario firms that provide cutting-edge solutions for global environmental issues.

To find out more about Ontario's Environment Industry or about investing in Ontario, please visit:
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trade.officer@ontario.ca
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All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.