Ontario Site Eyed for Manure Plant Test

ONTARIO SITE EYED FOR MANURE PLANT TEST
September 13, 2002
The London Free Press
Peter Geigen-Miller

A plant that transforms manure into heat, electricity and safe and effective fertilizer shows promise of reducing the impact of mega livestock farms
on the rural environment.

Officials of the Cement Association of Canada held a news conference yesterday to outline the results of an Alberta pilot project that tested the plant's European-developed technology.

Results of the manure project were announced during the Integrated Solutions to Manure Management conference yesterday at the London Convention Centre.

The association and its partners plan a further test project in Ontario and are considering Chatham-Kent or Simcoe County as a potential site.

Lawrence Loh, the association's marketing director, hopes for a commitment to the project sometime next year.

The pilot plant has a capacity of 100,000 tonnes of manure and organic waste a year and can treat agricultural waste water. The process uses composting and anaerobic digestion to convert these raw materials into enough methane gas to meet the heating and electricity needs of 900 Canadian households.