Introduction

Proponent

Gerdau Ameristeel

Location

1801 Hopkins Street South Whitby

Type

Waste

Reference number

08034

Contact

Current status

Environmental assessment: approved, March 20, 2013

Project summary

The purpose of the undertaking is for the expansion of the on-site landfill and provision for future extraction, recovery and re-use of landfilled material for use in the steel mill operation or for the production of saleable products.

Project history

Environmental assessment: approved
Date submitted: June 1, 2012
Expiry of public comment period: July 20, 2012
Expiry of public comment period for Ministry Review: October 19, 2012
Decision date: March 20, 2013

Terms of reference: approved
Date submitted: February 6, 2009
Expiry of public comment period: March 8, 2009
Decision date: August 11, 2009

Environmental assessment

Summary

The proposed undertaking involves the on-site management of produced and landfilled shredder by-product residue from the Gerdau Ameristeel Facility. This undertaking includes the expansion of the on-site landfill and provision for future extraction, recovery and re-use of landfilled material for use in the steel mill operation or for the production of saleable products. In particular, this undertaking is comprised of the following three components:

  1. New landfill capacity that is contiguous with the existing approved landfill.
  2. Recovered landfill capacity made available during reclamation, recycling and reuse of shredder by-product residue already in place in the existing landfill.
  3. Recovered landfill capacity made available during future reclamation activities if material placed in the new landfill can be recycling and reused.

Approval was being sought for a maximum annual disposal rate of 230,000 tonnes per year. The new landfill capacity is 4,670,000 m3 excluding final cover.

The Minister with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council made a decision to allow the undertaking to proceed on March 20, 2013. The Notice of Approval outlines the reasons for the approval and the conditions that have been imposed. Gerdau Ameristeel Recycling can proceed to implement the undertaking, subject to the conditions placed on this approval and the receipt of any other required approvals or permits.

Terms of reference

Gerdau Ameristeel Recycling, a wholly-owned division of Gerdau Ameristeel, owns and operates a recycling facility located at 1801 Hopkins Street South in the Town of Whitby, Ontario. The recycling facility receives end-of-life vehicles and miscellaneous metal-containing material (i.e., scrap metal), shreds them, and recovers the metal for reuse in the adjacent steel mill on-site.

The process of shredding end-of-life vehicles and other metal-containing materials results in shredder by-product residue. Shredder by-product residue generally consists of materials such as rubber, various plastics, foam, and fabric material. Since 1987, the shredder by-product residue has been landfilled on-site. At the current fill rate, the existing landfill will reach its design capacity in approximately five years.

Since the company began landfilling shredder by-product residue in 1987, there have been advances in material-recovery technologies, changes in the material composition of vehicles, and fluctuations in the monetary value of metal and other materials found in end-of-life vehicles and other metal-containing goods. The advances in recycling technology coupled with the growth in markets for various recycled materials may present an opportunity for excavating the existing landfilling, processing the material, and recovering material for recycling and reuse.