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A Case Study of Economic, Environmental, and Community Projects in
Northern Manitoba
Group Members:
Thomas Janzen
Laura McDowell
Erik Wiebe
Lucas Pappel
Rebecca Khun
Ryan Fast
Romeo KC
Lok Hin Cheng
471.23 Business/Government Relations
Due: Tuesday, November 3, 2015
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Article #1: A Study into Economic Opportunities Utilizing Waste Materials in Thompson,
Wabowden, and Norway House:
Laura and Thomas
In the article “A Study into Economic Opportunities Utilizing Waste Materials in
Thompson, Wabowden, and Norway House”, they examined five different business opportunities
that would create growth in northern communities.
Fish Waste Composting Operation:
The Fish Waste Composting Operation product, is made from fish processing waste and
sawdust/woodchips. This product would be used as fertilizer for landscaping and gardening in
northern communities. There is a demand for this product mainly in the garden industry. There
has been a 22% increase in this industry from 1993 to 1997 in Canada1, and businesses have
become very successful in this industry. The article continues to explain the technical process in
which the fish product is turned into compost, and what important steps there are in this process,
such as aeration and the bagging process. Because of the simplicity of the process, only two
things are needed, the fish processing waste and the fiber mixture (sawdust or woodchips). This
is what would make the business viable in northern communities where resources can be few.
The article also reviews the benefits of the jobs it would create, both in the set up and in the longterm aspects of the business. A marketing campaign would also be necessary for this product to
create demand for a fish based fertilizer. This operation would be fairly easy to establish because
there are not regulations on large-scale fish composting operations. A few major issues with a
fish composting business are a lack of demand for the product, lack of material, finding a good
1
Inc, Earthbound Environmental. "A Study into Economic Opportunities Utilizing Waste Materials in
Thompson, Wabowden & Norway House." 482 Sprague St., Winnipeg, MB, 2000. Page 10
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location, creating financial incentives for fishing boats to bring in the fish waste from the lake,
and so on. The article also goes through the set-up and operating cost of the operation and the
revenue projections, in which they estimate that 800,000 kilograms of fish product would be
available at $7.73 for a 7lb bag of fertilizer2. The conclusion that the article makes is that the fish
waste idea is technically feasible, but whether there is enough demand is the question that they
face. The best way to move forward with this idea is to establish operation with an existing fish
fertilizer operation to create a joint venture operation would create the best opportunity.
Increasing Capture of Scrap Metal and other Recyclables:
This operation would create a system at existing landfills to increase and regulate the
collection of scrap metal. There are a number of dumps that are not regulated because of a lack of
money to pay staff. This has created a major issue in accumulating waste. Not only could scrap
steel be collected but also a variety of small recyclables such as paper, plastic containers, and tin
cans. Reusable building materials such as lumber and doors could be reused or recycled as well.
Markets for these materials already have existed in northern communities, mainly Thompson.
The article goes through each category of materials that would be collected, and explains the
scenario of each material and what is currently being done. This operation would again help
create jobs. There would be a need for on-site staff at the landfills to ensure that the material is
being sorted, and people to load and transport the materials to Thompson. Equipment needed for
this operation would be a large flatbed truck with an attached crane, storage containers at each
landfill sight, and additional capacity at the Thompson Recycling Centre. Revenue projections for
this project are based on current prices of different categories of metal such as structural steel,
appliances, or aluminum. The Manitoba Product Stewardship Corporation (MPSC) also provides
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(Economic Opportunites, Page 15)
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a per tonne pay-out of $152/tonne to municipalities based on weight of the materials collected.
This would create another revenue opportunity for the operation in addition to the sale of the
recyclable materials. According to the revenue numbers from MPSC and material sale this
project looks to be a viable option for cleaning up landfills and creating jobs. These jobs would
be sustainable and they would help to manage and maintain existing landfills while generating
revenue in the community.
Pallet Recovery:
Another opportunity is for the Thompson Recycling Centre (TRC) to collect used pallets
and sell them to a used pallet supply operation in Winnipeg. There is already a high demand for
used pallets in Winnipeg with multiple potential customers that vary in prices and which pallets
they would want. The different pallets are worth different amount averaging around $23. At this
point TRC can expect to get 2000 pallets (that currently are being used for shipping recyclable
materials, free firewood, or garbage) but there is potential to obtain even more pallets2. If there
was a diversion system for the pallets the TRC could have more than 2000. A free collection
service and creating a pallet recovery centre at the local landfill would be the best methods of
increasing pallet recovery. Additionally, the program would need to be highly promoted locally
in order for people to be aware of where to take the pallets. This would only require a total of one
employee. The transport costs associated with this project is $400 per load from Thompson to
Winnipeg3. The set up costs would be fairly minimal as there is an existing truck for the
collection service, and potential space at the landfill rather than setting the centre up elsewhere.
The potential revenue would be around $600 a load, not including the expense of paying the
employee4. The revenue could increase if TRC can promote this initiative enough that more
2
(Economic Opportunities, Page 15)
(Economic Opportunities, Page 16)
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(Economic Opportunities, Page 15)
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pallets come in. There is also the potential for greater revenue if TRC sells the quality used
pallets within the community to businesses for averaging closer to $5 than the previous average
of $2. However there is the risk of upsetting businesses that previously got their pallets for free
from TRC.
Hydro Pole Sawing:
This opportunity involves selling lumber that is made from retired hydro poles. The
market already exists for this, but unfortunately the prices to buy the hydro poles from Manitoba
Hydro are increasing. As well as Manitoba Hydro is now encouraging subcontractors to remove
the poles themselves after the wires are down. In order to obtain the maximum about of poles,
TRC would need to contract the removal of the poles with Manitoba Hydro, or purchase them
from the subcontractors. TRC would also need a storage area for these poles, 40 of which is
currently available to them5. Unless TRC contracts out the sawing of the wood, they would need
to buy their own sawmill. A sawmill that would suit the needs of TRC range in price from $7,500
to $35,000 depending on if they are purchasing a manual or hydraulic saw5. Assuming that about
50% of the poles are cedar, and 50% are pine, the approximate income would be $20,400 for the
40 poles5. The income amount would be half of that if they choose to sell wholesale. However,
there is also the cost of an operator, and transport for the poles which was not mentioned in the
report.
Packaged Kindling and Firewood:
The final economic opportunity discussed in the report was to bundle packages of kindling and
firewood from discard lumber and sell it through retail outlets (gas stations and building project
stores). This is already seen throughout most gas stations so there is clearly demand, but
5
(Economic Opportunities, Page 19)
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potentially already an oversupply. The wood would be supplied by a local manufacturing plant
that currently burns most of their wood trimmings. This manufacturing company (Nor West) still
needs to be confirmed as the official supplier for this initiative. Employees needed would be one
full time labourer and one part time manager. The marketing of the environmental and
community development initiative can be done on the packaging of the actual bundles. Set up
costs would be low, and operating costs would be consistent, but neither of these numbers were
outlined within the report. Transportation costs would be $400 per load ($0.14 per bundle)6. The
productivity depends on the labourer and whether he/she can produce closer to 10 bundles per
hour or 20. The labour costs to fill a trailer could be anywhere from $1150 to $2300. Income
would around $5250 assuming that bundles sell for approximately $1.756. Potential gross profit
would be $2500 per load (not subtracting overhead expenses). If the labourer is able to produce
10 bundles per hour, it will take him/her about 8 weeks to produce a full load (7 hours a day and
5 days per week)6. Keeping in mind holidays and time off, there could be about 6 and a quarter
loads in a year totaling $15,625. Overall this opportunity needs to be further investigated to
determine more concrete expenses and whether this is a viable opportunity.
Article #2: Earth Bound Town of Gillam Waste Diversion Strategy:
Lucas and Erik
The town of Gillam has decided to put into action a recycling plan to help clean up the
city. They hope to recycle all the basic recycling items such as paper, plastic and cardboard, as
well as some specialty items such as used oil, tires, and scrap metal. With the implementation of
this plan they hope that it will clean up the city and all the benefits that come with that, as well as
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(Economic Opportunities, Page 21)
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create jobs for those in the community. Currently the town of Gillam does not have a recycling
program that picks up the local recycling from peoples’ houses, and at the landfill they already
divide up the tires, oils, and scrap metal.7
Recycling Pick Up:
The first step in the process is the implementation of a recycling pick up program.
Currently there is not service like this in the town, but they plan on purchasing a trailer that
would be used to transport recycled materials to the landfill. This system would be similar to
many others that are found in towns and cities. Every household puts their recycling bins out on a
certain day, and then the truck and trailer comes around and picks it up.8 Once the recycling
reaches its destination they will sort it out into the desired category, from there they will put it
into bags. These bags will then be transported to Thompson where they have the necessary
equipment to process the recycling; the cost of this outsourcing comes at $20 per tonne.9
Used oil:
For the recycling of used oil the town of Gillam has a few options. The first is to buy a
new ‘eco-center’ that has a concrete pad, used oil container, and oil drums for storage. This will
cost the town $3000 and $3000 will be covered by Manitoba Association for Resource Recovery
Corp (MARRC)10. Another option is for the town to use an existing building with a concrete pad
and buy the necessary equipment which would also be covered 50% by MARRC to a maximum
of $3000. A third option is to use a private recycling program that Manitoba Hydro uses. They
might consider opening up to the public. The cheapest option would be for the town to use an
existing building and purchase the equipment needed. Using this option would estimate a yearly
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8
Earthbound Environmental. Town of Gillam Waste Diversion Strategy. Winnipeg, MB, 2001. 48. Page 1
(Waste Diversion, Page 7-8)
(Waste Diversion, Page 12)
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(Waste Diversion, Page 19)
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loss of $2,833 after subsidies and yearly return of $2300 from MARRC11. The significant cost is
labor and administration, which could be lowered if the public works staffed the center.
Used Tires:
For used tires the town of Gillam currently stores them in the landfill. They have two
options to get rid of the tires from the town, one of which is already being used. In the current
system the Tire Stewardship Board (TSB) pays a transportation company to come pick up the
used tires once a year. They also pay $0.50 per tire storage fee which the town gets. This system
is easy for the town, costs very little, and runs a profit of around $450 per year12. The second
option is for Gillam to ship their tires to a central location like Thompson to get them out of the
landfill quicker than a year. TSB also pays 100% of the shipping weight but does not cover
labour costs. This option also requires a lot of paperwork and is much more complicated than the
current system.
Scrap Metal:
Currently Gillam does not have a system to recycle scrap metal. Generally scrap metal is
piling up with no way to get rid of it. Occasionally crushed derelict vehicles are taken because
they are easier to make money on than loose metal. The town is also faced with finding a trained
person to remove CPC’s from freezers and refrigerators before they can be transported. Manitoba
Hydro has offered to send an employee to do this, solving the problem of training someone.
Gillam has two options when deciding what to do with the scrap metal. The first option is to hire
a private metal processing company to come and crush the metal and take it away. Thus far, no
company has provided any quotes and there is a significant chance that it would cost Gillam
money. The second option would be to ship to Thompson. Currently Thompson landfill profits
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12
(Waste Diversion, Page 25)
(Waste Diversion, Page 19)
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$35 per tonne because of paved roads and high volume13. Because of this metal processors are
able to purchase metal. This would be the best option for Gillam because it provides opportunity
to break even or make a small revenue. Metal compactors from the south are willing to come and
crush the metal and transport it as long as there is a high volume.
Article #3: Scrap Metal Recycling in Remote Northern Communities- A Pilot Project
Implementation Plan:
Rebecca, Romeo, Ryan
Recycling scraps metal in the Northern community is very costly because of the high
price of machinery, difficulty in transportation and expensive cost in the collecting process.
Cleaning up scrap metal from the community is crucial to create a healthy environment for the
community, as well as to reduce the toxicity of the soil caused by abandoned cars and others. The
governments of Manitoba and Nunavut have contracted Earthbound Environmental Inc. to
develop scrap metal collecting and recycling system in their provinces. Garden Hill northern
community is also in the process of developing a business plan to operate a scrap metal recycling
system independently. Even though the Garden Hill project will be developed exclusively, the
statistics and studies from Earthbound Environment Inc. metal recycling system for Gillam,
Churchill, Rankin Inlet and Coral Harbor will still be helpful in developing business plan for
Garden Hill.
Handy Methodology:
Conducting sites visits, interview and meetings, researching from similar company data
bases can be beneficial in collecting information to develop business plan. Regarding the regional
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(Waste Diversion, Page 31)
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recycling system, Garden Hill has a possible opportunity to exploit the accessibility of baling
equipment that are already exists in another northern community. If the Garden Hill group is
committed in the collecting stage, they have the potential to attract investors from their endmarket. In the shipping process, back-hauling unbaled items on a flat-deck trailer are not feasible,
due to the difficulty of keeping it stable and secure.
Timeline
The following is information regarding the 2003 trial run of the scrap metal initiative.
March 1, 2003

Official Start of the Project

Project Managers begin work

Confirmation of the members that belong to the Project Steering Committee
March 3 - 31 Scrap Metal Recycling Manual is prepared for local staff
March 3 - 7 RFP for local Project Management in each community will be decided, educated,
and distributed accordingly
March 10 Local staff positions are advertised in each individual community
March 17 Coordination for the use of trailers for storage.
April 1-4

Position trailers and used for storage

Staff hired on a 8 month term

Staff orientation carried out
April 7 - 9 Staff training commences in Selkirk
April 10 Employees begin baling in communities
May 19 – June 27 Material in Gillam is baled
June 30 – July 6 Baler and backhoe are shipped to Churchill
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July 7 – Oct 31 Material in Churchill is baled
November 3 Baler and backhoe are returned back home
June 15 Shipping of bales from Gillam commences and continues until the process is finished.
August 1 Shipping of bales via rail from Churchill to Selkirk begins and continues until finished.
Budget
Total Operating Costs - 625,990
Total Project Management Costs - 74,250
Total Costs - 700,240
Total Projected Revenue- 269,200
Net Project Cost- 431,040
Funding Request - 431,040
Community Implementation Details:
In this section, it details the scrap metal recycling pilot project plan that would be
implemented in the four communities of Gilliam, Churchill, Rankin Inlet, and Carol Harbor. I
will be going through one of the communities to show the implemented project plan.
Gilliam available metal/staff:
There is 800 tons of scrap metal that is available in Gilliam for $70/ton. To help with the
project Gilliam will hire two local workers getting paid $10/hr that will work on the scrap metal
and other recycling related projects in the community. Their training will be provided by
Mandak.
Storage of Non-Ferrous Metal:
The Town of Gilliam should provide a secure location for metals, like copper and
aluminum, because they have a higher value than normal scrap metal. The high value for copper
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and aluminum attracts thieves. Without a secure location these thieves will steal high value
metals. A non-ferrous metal costs about $0.40/lb.
Baling:
The baler and black-hoe would be shipped to Gilliam and it would take about 26 weeks of
bailing the 800 tons of scrap metal. The black-hoe & operator would make $90/hr and the baler
would make $75/hr. Total 200 hours. The costs of flying the operator from his home community
to Gilliam will be $1,000 dollars and then flying him back home will be another $1,000 dollars.
Shipping:
There is two options when it comes to shipping. First option is backhaul $53/ton – “After
the material has been baled the bales would be stacked on pallets and left at the landfill. They
would then be backhauled to Winnipeg by Harvey Williams trucking when these trucks leave
every Wednesday14”. The second option is Rail $50/ton – “Gondola cars will be located in
Gillam and loaded with the baled material. When full, the gondola cars will be delivered to
Mandak by rail”14.
Residential Recycling:
The community of Gilliam has a plan to start a residential recycling program. In order to
execute this program, Gilliam has to purchase a trailer to collect the recyclable items from
people’s homes. All the recyclable items will be shipped to Thompson Recycling Centre for
processing.
Projected Budget:
14
"Scrap Metal Recycling in Remote Northern Communities." A PILOT PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (2003): 1-80.
Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
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Total local staff costs $25,400. Total other costs $86,000. Total Revenue $57,200.
Projected net cost $54,200.
Article #4: An Analysis of Viable Opportunities to Stimulate Local Markets for Waste
Glass, Drywall, and Concrete:
Hin
In terms of waste reduction, there are opportunities in Manitoba. There are three types of
material that have been considered on their feasibility and their economical viability--- glass,
drywall and concrete.
For glass, options for waste reduction are value-added processing, aggregate and closedloop recycling. Though they are technically feasible, just like close-loop recycling has low
coverage of area with only 100miles radius of workable area, they all have limitations. Therefore,
the solution would not likely to pick one to do but a combination of ways working together.
The major problem is cost. If the recycle material is more expensive than the raw
material, business would still tend to use the raw material. In the current situation, the cost of
using the recycle material exceed the price of virgin sand. The cost just for the operation on
recycling the material would be around 120 to 230 per tonne. This number does not include the
cost of gathering the material in a site.
For drywall, there are two conditions that need to be met to make the plan feasible. First,
the recycle cost must be cheaper than going to landfill. Otherwise, business would be reluctant to
recycle. Second, the amount of recycling drywall need to be enough or else company do so would
lose money.
In order to keep the conditions met, the government would need to do something through
laws and regulations to make going to landfill a less favourable option .Keeping less waste
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material going to the landfills is an efficient way to secure enough supply for recycling. On the
other hand, to expand the second market, there is an option to use the output of recycling as
odour control tool. This is still in the research and development stage, and needs more study to
make it actually feasible.
For concrete, similar to glass, the cost of using the recycling output is not lower than
virgin aggregate. Also, there is a dumping problem with concrete as people who are using it tend
to choose a way of disposal without treating it properly. It causes environmental problems and
needs to be solved right away.
Those three materials all encounter cost problems. One of the problems is that there is an
abundance of cheap raw material. The recycled material failed to take part in the business world
as favorable option of substitute. Another reason can be that going to the landfill is the preferred
option of disposal. Government needs to control this situation or it is very hard to do waste
reduction.
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Works Cited
Inc., Earthbound Environmental. 2000. "A Study into Economic Opportunities Utilizing Waste
Materials in Thompson, Wabowden & Norway House."
Inc., Earthbound Environmental. 2003. "Scrape Metal Recycling in Remote Northern
Communities."
"Scrap Metal Recycling in Remote Northern Communities." A PILOT PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (2003): 1-80. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
Inc., Earthbound Environmental. 2001. “An Analysis of Viable Opportunities to Stimulate Local
Markets for Waste Glass, Drywall, and Concrete.”