A company has looked to Battleford as a site for a novel idea: turning waste into usable energy.
Bill Roberts of Bzz Enterprises Ltd. recently asked Battleford town council about abating taxes for the old GLM Tanks property, located in the industrial area of Battleford on 5th Avenue.
According to an email Roberts sent to Town Hall, the company is seeking to generate an industry in the Battleford area which could use household and industrial waste to produce hydroelectricity.
Various companies in Canada have taken the initiative to convert waste into usable products, such as the Montreal-based Enerkem, which has a facility in Edmonton.
The City of Vancouver also uses technology to perform similar tasks.
However, not enough information was available to Battleford town council for them to abate taxes.
Council has granted abatements when, among other reasons, businesses have more specific timelines and plans – including for the post office building and Discovery Co-op – than what Bzz Enterprises Ltd. provided.
According to Battleford Chief Administrative Officer John Enns-Wind, turning garbage into electricity would require 10 tonnes of garbage per hour to feed the proposed process.
Battleford only takes 10 tonnes of garbage per day.
Both the town and Roberts are to do more research before coming to an agreement.
“I think it’d be brilliant for the environment if [Roberts] could take waste and turn it into energy, and supply it back to us,” Leslie said. “But we need to know more.”
Roberts asked the town to abate 60 per cent of a bill just under $11,500.
The matter is planned to come to council later this year.
