Waste, Recycling Hauler Emterra Expanding CNG in Toronto Area

Waste and recycling hauler Emterra Group and its partners plan to spend nearly $50 million for a new compressed natural gas (CNG) station in Mississauga, Ontario, and a new CNG fleet to serve the greater Peel region, all near Toronto.

The Burlington, Ontario-based Emterra said the new facility will be built and operated in partnership with U.S. Venture’s U.S. Gain Clean Fuel. It will support Emterra’s Mississauga-based fleet of more than 100 CNG waste and recycling collection vehicles, according to a news release.

The new facility will include a CNG-certified maintenance shop. Emterra expects construction to begin this summer.

The investment resulted from Emterra winning a bid to provide 216,000 households in the north and southwest area of the Peel region with single-stream recycling, food organics, yard waste, bulk waste and garbage collection services beginning in 2016. The Region of Peel is required to use CNG-fueled vehicles to keep its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The contract allows Emterra to generate employment in collection, fleet maintenance, administration and supervisory functions.

The new Emterra trucks will be operating with automated side-loader arms. The Region of Peel will move from a bag/blue box system to a cart system beginning in 2016.

Currently, Emterra uses CNG trucks in its waste collection operations in Manitoba and throughout British Columbia. The 60-vehicle CNG fleet in Winnipeg is the largest in the world operating in an extreme cold weather climate, the firm said.

Emterra has been aggressive of late in its CNG conversion. Last September it purchased more than 40 CNG waste trucks to serve the greater Toronto area.  The company has said it plans to have more than 200 recycling and waste collection natural gas trucks operating throughout Canada by the end of this year.

The company is growing in the United States as well. In late 2012 Emterra bought a significant portion of the assets of the bankrupt Michigan waste and recycling company, Richfield Management, and affiliated firms. The Flint, Mich.-based company held recycling and trash collection contracts for about 50 mid-Michigan communities plus the former Port Huron transfer station.

Emterra has operations in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Michigan, and annually sends about 500,000 metric tons of recyclables to end-markets to be remanufactured into new products.