Residential Recycling & Disposal
Emterra Environmental, a division of Emterra Group, provides comprehensive, integrated, and sustainable resource recovery services under our Zero Waste philosophy. We have 8 Blue Box Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) in British Columbia, 2 in Manitoba, and 2 in Ontario. 
Collection
Our fleet of trucks across Canada collect garbage, recyclables and organics in rural and urban municipalities across Canada.
Material Recovery Facilities
Since 1976 at our first Blue Box MRF located in Surrey, BC, we have been helping our customers meet and exceed their waste diversion goals. Through our 13 MRFs nationwide, we serve the industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) sectors and numerous municipalities, all comprising 10% of Canada’s population. We take pride in providing efficient and effective facilities and technologies to meet the needs of all the stakeholders we serve.
As experts in the design, build, and operations of MRFs, we recognize that simply collecting waste does not result in maximum waste diversion – collected recyclables must also be processed using the most effective methods to recover as much recyclables as possible. Our MRFs are designed and operated around this principal to maximize the recovery of collected materials. As experts in both recyclables collection and processing, we have the expertise to help our customers maximize their recycling and waste diversion efforts.
Single Stream MRFs:
Single stream recycling is a very effective and user-friendly system that enables all recyclables, including both fibre and containers, to be mixed during collection and processing. Consumers no longer need to sort and separate the different types of recyclable materials by hand, thus saving them time and energy and making the recycling program much easier to comply with.
Because the equipment required for this type of processing system is highly specialized, we use only the latest and most reliable technology available in the recycling industry. Only a handful of single stream recycling plants exist in Canada, and by the end of 2008, Emterra Group will have 3 – the most for one company in the nation.
Single Stream MRF Locations
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Our Winnipeg Single Stream Facility is the only one of its kind west of Toronto currently, and was one of the first single stream MRFs built in Canada. The facility was revitalized from a site with an incinerator that had been abandoned for more than 20 years. In partnership with the City of Winnipeg, we have been remediating this site; once an underutilized and polluted area, it now contributes to the local recovery of valuable recyclables. As Winnipeg’s first single-stream facility, it has been in operation since 2003.
Burlington, Ontario
The second single stream facility to join Emterra Group was recently installed in Burlington, Ontario. This facility serves the province’s industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) sector and municipalities.
Surrey, British Columbia
Our third single stream facility in Surrey, B.C. came on line in 2008. Emterra's first single stream facility in the province, it serves the province's industry-commercial-institutional (ICI) sector as well as municipalities: Surrey, Coquitlam, etc.
To view a list of the municipalities we currently serve across Canada, please refer to our Municipalities page.