Emterra Group named finalist in Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce’s Achievement in Business Excellence Awards

Emterra Group named finalist in Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce’s Achievement in Business Excellence Awards

October 22, 2014

October 22, 2014 – “This is amazing,” said Emmie Leung, Founder and CEO of Emterra Group on learning that her waste and resource management company, Emterra Environmental, has been named a finalist in the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce 2014 Achievements in Business Excellence (ABEX) Awards.

“We’re very proud to stand among the leading businesses that have been named finalists in the ABEX Awards and we thank those who nominated and voted for us. For a company that has been part of the provincial business community for just over two years, this recognition is truly appreciated,” she added.

Emterra is a finalist in the Environment category which recognizes “a business that demonstrates excellence in the development of innovative programs, products and/or services offering improvement for environmental purposes. Improvements may relate to soil, air, water, noise or visual pollutants, or energy conservation.” The category is sponsored by SaskWater 

Now in its 31st year, the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce introduced the ABEX Awards in 1984 to honour outstanding achievements in business excellence in private sector enterprises regardless of size or economic activity.

Emterra’s presence in Saskatchewan includes building and operating an $18 million single stream recyclables material recovery facility in Regina and providing recycling collection services for a number of municipalities and private sector customers.   

The company built its state-of-the-art recycling facility at the Global Transportation Hub in 2013 after winning a contract with the City of Regina to process and market recyclables collected from the city’s inaugural Blue Cart Recycling Program. At full operation, the plant has a total processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes annually.

“This Saskatchewan material recovery facility is the flagship of Emterra’s processing operations,” Leung said. “We’ve built it from the ground up with a full commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability.”

Socially-responsible Employment Opportunities

Leung said the new plant now employs between 25 and 30 workers with expectations that the number will grow as Emterra expands to meet the solid waste management needs in Saskatchewan’s municipal and industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) sectors.

Environmentally-Responsible Construction

The plant was designed to use less energy, less water and less natural resources. Benefits include lower energy and water costs, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and a healthier environment for workers. Following LEED’s best practices for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, Emterra incorporated:

  • more than 250 metric tonnes of recycled asphalt in the site development;

  • advanced, energy saving windows and doors that incorporate recycled materials;

  • nearly 137 metric tonnes of recycled steel in the structure and panelling;

  • water conserving washroom facilities; and

  • processing equipment that features industry-leading, energy efficient technology.

The facility’s technology and design, which features the latest European optical near infrared, screening and mechanical sorting equipment, enables Emterra to process the full spectrum of waste packaging and paper collected in the residential and ICI sectors, including most plastic packaging (identified as plastic resin types 1 through 7) , aseptic and polycoat containers, steel cans, aluminum containers, glass, cardboard, newspaper, magazines, soft cover books, printer paper, and all types of mixed paper.

 

About Emterra Group

Emterra Group is a Canadian leader in waste resources management. A family owned and operated company, it comprises four divisions offering municipal and industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) customers with a fully integrated approach to collecting, processing and marketing waste, recyclables, organic waste, used tires, liquid waste, and more. Emterra has operations in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Michigan, USA, and annually ships about 500,000 tonnes of recyclables to end-markets to be re-manufactured into new products.

 

– 30 –

 

Contact:

Paulina Leung
VP of Corporate Strategy and Business Development
Emterra Group
905.336.9084, ext. 130
Paulina.Leung@emterra.ca