Finding Worth in Waste
Findings presented in this report suggest that, environmentally, energy from waste using modern
technologies will release fewer greenhouse gas emissions than landfilling; economically, energy from waste will generate power and revenue from materials that are currently unutilized, and will contribute to sustainable offshoot industries and jobs; socially, the pursuit of innovation in green technologies will help to make Ontario a hub of cutting-edge knowledge in the field of sustainable development, will encourage broader policy integration in the province and will allow the cement sector to develop and realize the innovative capacity it requires to remain viable in the long term.
By endorsing energy from waste in the cement sector, the Government of Ontario could further its
mandate to eliminate coal as a source of energy in the province through the displacement of coal as a
fuel in industrial processes. The cement sector is currently one of biggest users of coal and petroleum
coke in the province, but with forward-thinking policy initiatives the province could help to eliminate the
combustion of these fossil fuels altogether.