FAQ

The core technology has been operating in Europe for several years. Enhancements to deliver higher purity products have been fully developed and tested up to full scale in Sustane’s pilot operations. We are fully confident in the processes; however, normal testing and tuning is expected to take several months, and we will be working closely with material off-takers during that time.

Sustane facilities do not generate leachate, the leachate generation from the landfill will start to fall away over several years. Our technology “cooks” the waste with steam and dries the biomass so no waste combustion occurs. Fuel for the cooking and drying comes from propane during the initial startup phase, and a small vent (stack) vents normal heating vapours.

A Municipality with a critical mass of needed municipal solid waste (MSW) management and most importantly one that shares Sustane’s vision of a landfill-free future is the ideal partner!

Municipalities do not need to contribute to the financing of a Sustane project. However, Municipalities should be ready to commit all available MSW destined for landfilling be made available to Sustane.

• Reduced environmental risk and dramatic CO2e benefit
• Reduced landfill cell requirements
• The transformation of waste into a resource
• Each facility creates 25+ highly skilled new jobs
• Significant private sector investment into the Municipality, which will bolster tax revenue
• An anchor tenant in the Municipality’s industrial-eco landscape
• Less cell constructions means less borrowing which enables the Municipality to focus on other infrastructure
• Becoming leaders in waste management, changing how we and the world view landfill waste

Sustane works with municipalities to ensure risks are very low. We will take steps to mitigate risk, such as monitoring landfill cell capacity and ensuring Sustane meets its waste diversion performance targets. From an investment standpoint, the Municipality is not putting any capital into this process, it is completely funded by the private sector.

Sustane has worked very closely with its municipal partners to develop an economic model that delivers a solution with a dramatically reduced environmental impact while maintaining similar economics for a Municipality on a long term, sustainable basis.

• …It does cost more to keep things out of a landfill — to do the right thing. We know this from looking at recycling, costing around $200 per tonne and in excess of $150 per tonne to process organics.
• Over the 20-year term of a typical contract, the Municipality will achieve price stability for the residents at a cost competitive price with landfilling
• The Municipality will continue to receive a host fee for all waste delivered to our facility, which is revenue used to fund general operations
• Things that are benefits, yet hard to put a price on:
• A Municipality will reduce its long-term environmental risk as we will be putting 10% or less of MSW (inert, inorganic) we manage back into landfills each year
• This enables the construction of fewer landfill cells; thus, not dealing with the closure and ongoing environmental monitoring associated with the same.
• Lessens the impact on our environment, ensuring we do not leave a legacy of environmental waste for future generations.