PREMIER AND ORAZIETTI ANNOUNCE $2 MILLION IN SUPPORT FOR INNOVATIVE TIRE RECYCLING PROJECT IN SAULT STE. MARIE

McGuinty Government Invests in Green Technology to Create Jobs and Boost Economy

Sault Ste. Marie – The Ontario government is supporting an innovative new technological process to recycle tires with a $2 million investment Premier McGuinty and David Orazietti, MPP announced today.  

  

"Supporting new technologies and creating green jobs is the right thing to do for our economy and our environment. Projects like this one put Ontario at the cutting edge of green tech, while ensuring that used tires are managed in an environmentally responsible way." said Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is providing $2 million to Ellsin Environmental Ltd. to establish a pilot plant in Sault Ste. Marie where scrap tires would be broken down directly to their original elements of carbon black, oil, gas and steel. The new technology would not employ combustion and therefore produce no noxious emissions. Some of the recovered elements would be used as a fuel source to power the plant and could potentially provide power to the provincial grid.

“This initiative will offer new solutions to existing tire recycling, disposal and environmental challenges," said Orazietti. "Establishing this innovative new business in our city will help create new jobs and further establish Sault Ste. Marie as a leader in green technology.”

The NOHFC will provide funding for this project under its Enterprise North Job Creation Program. Through this program, the NOHFC provides financial assistance to the private sector to help bring new jobs and economic prosperity to the North.

“This project will be the first true test of the process and the equipment on a commercial scale and we are hopeful for a successful outcome. We are proud to be supporting efforts that could contribute significantly to a cleaner Ontario and help reduce our environmental footprint,” said Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry and Chair of the NOHFC.

Other green energy projects in Sault Ste. Marie supported by the McGuinty government include:

1. 1. ◦Provincial power purchase agreement to support $400 million Brookfield Renewable Power Wind Farm
      

   2. ◦Provincial power purchase agreement to support $360 million POD Solar Farm
      

   3. ◦Provincial power purchase agreement to support $135 million cogeneration plant at Essar Steel
      

   4. ◦Certificate of Approval for Elementa’s Waste-From-Energy project
      

2. QUICK FACTS
   

1. ◦There are over 2.8 million scrap tires in 175 stockpiles across the province
   

2. ◦In the spring Ontario also announced a new, industry-funded Ontario Tire Stewardship Program to deal with the more than 12 million used tires generated each year. The program is set to begin this fall
   
   

3. LEARN MORE
   

1. ◦About the NOHFC’s Enterprise North Job Creation Program