Pilot Soil Recycling Facility Wins Brownie Award

November 4, 2010, Toronto, ON— Waterfront Toronto’s innovative approach to soil remediation and its Port Lands Pilot Soil Recycling Facility were recognized with a 2010 Canadian Urban Institute Brownie award.

The prestigious awards are considered the Canadian industry standard for recognizing excellence in leadership and innovation in brownfield redevelopment and commitment to the remediation of brownfield projects. Waterfront Toronto’s pilot soil recycling facility won in the Remediation Technologies and Technological Innovation category.

“We are very proud and honoured that the Canadian Urban Institute acknowledged our pilot soil recycling facility with a Brownie,” said Waterfront Toronto President and CEO John Campbell.  “Soil recycling is an opportunity to turn contaminated soil into a resource instead of a liability.  Our pilot facility has the potential to change the way impacted soil is managed in Ontario.”

Waterfront Toronto established the Port Lands Pilot Soil Recycling facility in July 2010 as part of its soil management strategy and overall commitment to sustainability.  The objective of the pilot is to determine the viability of treating and reusing impacted soil as an alternative to the traditional dig-and-dump disposal of brownfield soil.

The revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront is one of the largest urban brownfield remediation projects in the world. Revitalization of the waterfront area depends on the ability to deal with soil that has been impacted by decades of industrial uses, and by infilling long ago when environmental standards were not as stringent as today.

Waterfront Toronto anticipates that it will need to manage approximately 2,000,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil over the next 10 to 20 years.  By recycling waterfront soil, Waterfront Toronto would be treating soil near its source, diverting soil from landfill, and providing a source of treated soil that can be used in waterfront revitalization projects.

The pilot enables Waterfront Toronto to fully assess the environmental, economic and operational viability of treating and reusing soil before committing to a full-scale recycling facility.  The goals of the pilot are to identify the range of treatment options and costs of remediating soil; confirm that impacted soil can be treated to an environmental condition that allows it to be reused in revitalization projects for residential, parkland and commercial projects; and showcase treatment technologies that will benefit brownfield remediation.

The pilot’s operators, DEC and Tetra Tech /Stuyvesant, began processing soil in early September. Testing is expected to be complete by early November, and then the operators will prepare reports for Waterfront Toronto’s review and assessment.

During the pilot approximately 20,000 cubic metres of soil are being processed employing the newest and best technologies available to treat contaminated soils.  The pilot’s operator teams are using soil washing, complemented by field trials of a number of other cutting-edge technologies. Both teams operate similar facilities in Europe and the United States.

Waterfront Toronto’s sustainable development approach is guided by a comprehensive Sustainability Framework, which serves as a roadmap to ensure that sustainability principles are woven into every facet of operations and decision making.  By employing global best practices and made-in-Toronto solutions, Waterfront Toronto is developing new waterfront communities that protect and enhance our natural environment, and that will ultimately be recognized as global models for sustainability.

The Governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Toronto created Waterfront Toronto to oversee and lead the renewal of Toronto’s waterfront. Public accessibility, design excellence, sustainable development, economic development and fiscal sustainability are the key drivers of waterfront revitalization.

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Media Contact: 

Tari Stork, Project Communications Manager