The Town of Sylvan Lake is looking at alternatives to dumping their garbage into a landfill, the traditional way to dispose of garbage here in Canada.

Recently Fogdog Energy, a company that specializes in alternative ways of disposing of waste, approached council with a proposal to construct a No Landfill Disposal Facility.

Michael Beaudin is a business developing officer with Fogdog Energy, and he says they wish to bring their convertor style of disposal to Sylvan, where garbage is broken down into what they call, fluff.

An example of the type of machine used to turn garbage into ‘fluff’, which the Town of Sylvan Lake is considering using as an alternative to a landfill or waste transfer site. Photo courtesy of Fogdog Energy.

“What happens with it, is it goes into a mechanical system that actually uses a sharp blade and breaks it down into sort of a centrifuge kind of style. And as it continues to get broke down, it breaks it down to its hydrocarbon base. The ‘fluff’ can actually be used to be sold to companies that actually employ coal fire kilns, and when we use it in a coal fired kiln, it’s actually a cleaner burning source than coal.”  

So far this technology is being utilized in Europe and parts of Africa, but has yet to be tried here in Canada.

Council directed administration to enter into a letter of intent, to negotiate the term and conditions of a contract with Fogdog Energy, with council having final approval of whether or not to proceed.

Beaudin says they can have the plant fully up and running within seven months of contracts being signed.