Safety-Kleen Canada Inc., Canada's largest collector and re-refiner of used motor oil, recently broke ground on a $26-million expansion to its used oil re-refinery in Breslau, Ontario.
The expansion will increase the facility's processing capacity by 25 per cent, from 152 million to 191 million litres of used oil annually.
The economic and environmental benefits of the upgrade to the re-refinery, which re-refines used motor oil into high-quality lubricating oils, will include:
-using 30 times less natural resources than crude oil refineries to produce the same level of high-quality lubricants
-increasing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent, from 309,000 to 392,000 metric tonnes per year
-avoiding heavy metal emissions associated with burning used oil in uncontrollable devices, such as space heaters, boilers and greenhouses.
"Re-refining makes an enormous contribution to reducing waste, reducing energy consumption and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, all while creating jobs and investment in Ontario's economy," said Dale MacIntyre, vice president of Safety-Kleen's Canadian refinery operations, who attended the ground-breaking ceremony on October 28, 2010. "We're glad to be part of growing Ontario's green economy, and this investment expands our ability to re-refine lubricants made from non-renewable resources and recycle and re-use them as part of a comprehensive cradle-to-cradle environmental management system."
MacIntyre was joined at the ceremony by Ontario Environment Minister John Wilkinson.
"Ontario's progressive policies on waste diversion support the growth of Ontario's green economy," said Wilkinson. "Investments like this one by Safety-Kleen will ensure the steady transformation of Ontario's economy to one that converts what was once considered waste into a new source of wealth for Ontarians."
The expansion represents one of the largest investments in Ontario's green economy in 2010.
The upgrade will be complete by winter 2012.
This news item first appeared in EcoLog News (11/05/2010). To learn how to subscribe, visit www.ecolog.com