A Nanaimo-based soil reclamation company is practising some rock-solid recycling.

GRT opened its resource regeneration plant at Duke Point in 2021 where it recycles contaminated soils that would otherwise be dumped into landfills, producing clean clay and gravel for landscaping, construction and even capping landfills.

The companyB次元官网网址檚 reclamation technology can deal with industrial-level contaminants such as hydrocarbons and heavy metals from gas stations, industrial sites, construction projects and dredging from harbours. The company can also clear contamination from water, created by high turbidity from seasonal rainfall or from groundwater accumulated at work sites where dirt has been heavily disturbed, according to GRTB次元官网网址檚 website.

Dee Woods, company communications director, said prior to setting up at Duke Point, GRTB次元官网网址檚 cleaning plant operated from a barge.

B次元官网网址淲e were able to process projects on a mobile basis, so you could just tug the barge to wherever, process the material B次元官网网址� mainly dredge B次元官网网址� but this is our first and only, for the moment, permanent facility,B次元官网网址� she said.

GRT has processed more than 100,000 tonnes of material, most of which would have otherwise been trucked to landfills, since the Duke Point site opened. Soils trucked to the site are picked up by a large loader machine and dropped into a hopper that feeds a massive soil washer.

B次元官网网址淲hen [the loader operator] drops that material into the hopper, the washing and sorting process begins B次元官网网址� The large material gets separated first, the big rocks and oversized stuff B次元官网网址� and then the rest of the material goes through the subsequent process,B次元官网网址� Woods said. B次元官网网址淪o, itB次元官网网址檚 just getting washed and agitated, just like a [clothes] washing machine.B次元官网网址�

A combination of chemicals and filtration frees the contaminants from the soil and clumps those together for disposal, then sorts the cleaned material into different sizes, from rock to medium-size gravels, pea gravel, sand and clay.

Extracted contaminants are further treated on site and then sent to be landfilled. Water used in the cleaning operation is cleaned in the siteB次元官网网址檚 water treatment plant and reused.

B次元官网网址淪o all that material B次元官网网址� in different steps of the plant B次元官网网址� comes out clean and all that material can be reused in the construction industry instead of being mined new from a quarry,B次元官网网址� Woods said.

She said the process diverts about 95 per cent of material from being landfilled.

B次元官网网址淭he one thing that we canB次元官网网址檛 do is hazardous waste,B次元官网网址� Woods said. B次元官网网址淎nything thatB次元官网网址檚 over the threshold for hazardous waste, we are not permitted to receive that B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 industrial level and below that we can take, but we have no problem filling the plant with that type of material because itB次元官网网址檚 all around.B次元官网网址�

While much of GRTB次元官网网址檚 work diverts material from landfills, the cap on the Nanaimo Regional Landfill on Cedar Road is made from GRT reclaimed materials.

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According to Ben Routledge, RDN manager of solid waste services, the washed clay product from GRT is ideal for temporary and final landfill closure projects because it creates a barrier that helps block precipitation from entering the landfill. About 35 per cent of the recent closure project at the landfill was done with GRT-recovered material.

Woods said the plant also provides savings for developersB次元官网网址� disposal costs. GRTB次元官网网址檚 tipping fees are the same as those for a landfill near Campbell River that accepts contaminated soil and the much shorter haul to Duke Point saves on fuel costs.

GRT is looking for ways to tweak its technology. In January it was one of 14 B.C. companies to receive a portion of $2 million from the B.C. fast pilot program through Innovate B.C. and the National Research Council of Canada industrial research assistance program, which helps companies to get pilot tech projects started and potentially provide new jobs across the province.

B次元官网网址淭he B.C. fast pilot program allows GRT to advance its research and development regarding coal-laden soils B次元官网网址� a key concern in the Nanaimo region,B次元官网网址� said Peter Reid, CEO, in a Innovate B.C. press release. B次元官网网址淥ur project intends to demonstrate a new method for removing coal from soil that will allow both the coal and the soil to be beneficially reused. If successful, this innovation will result in lower environmental costs for regional development, enabling the creation of more housing and additional jobs for the local community.B次元官网网址�

GRT, which says it is one of just three soil reclamation companies in North America, is looking to expand to the Lower Mainland.

B次元官网网址淥bviously, the market there is way, way bigger, the opportunity is way bigger,B次元官网网址� Woods said. B次元官网网址淪omething like this is definitely needed over there because a lot of those landfills B次元官网网址� are running out of space.B次元官网网址�

chris.bush@nanaimobulletin.com
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