Local Company Hoping To Eliminate The Need To Expand The Trail Road Landfill

By Charlie Senack, Manotick Messenger

With Ottawa landfills reaching capacity, one local green energy company is hoping to prevent the need for an expansion at the Trail road facility in Richmond. 

Landaira, which is dedicated to global environmental improvements that foster a sustainable future, is trying to reduce dependence municipal landfills are facing. By eliminating the solid waste footprint, Landaira mission statement is to make a greener tomorrow. 

Their goal is to reduce greenhouse gases and create full-time employment in Ottawa and other parts of the world.

The group has developed a Thermal Conversion technology that transforms solid waste into carbon, char, and a clean-burning synthetic gas, which can be used to produce heat or electricity.

The technology has been in the testing stage since 2009, with work being done at Landaira’s R&D facility in Dunlap, Tennessee. They are now trying to get the City of Ottawa on board to eliminate the need for an expansion to the Trail Road landfill in Richmond. 

The Trail Road facility is expected to run out of space in less than 15 years, and all Ottawa area landfills could reach total capacity by 2036. With time running out, the local company is trying to develop a viable solution that reduces the need for landfill expansion projects and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

“Our company could help the City of Ottawa reduce the amount of garbage entering the Trail Road landfill by 600 tonnes per day at zero capital cost to taxpayers,” said Johannes Ziebarth, CEO and President of Landaira, who lives in Manotick. 

“Our patented Thermal Conversion technology will reduce greenhouse gases by up to 99 per cent while eliminating the need for a landfill expansion and reducing the volume of municipal solid waste going into any existing landfill site by up to 95 per cent,” he added.

Ziebarth and other representatives from Landaira have met with members of Ottawa’s Standing Committee on Environmental Protection to propose the solutions. 

“We’re excited in hopes of building a partnership with the City of Ottawa to help combat the landfill issues,” said Spencer Warren, Vice President of Operations at Landaira, and also Barrhaven Catholic School Board Trustee. 

“These are real issues, and Landaira has real solutions,” he added. “We have designed a self-sustaining cost-effective operational facility to help the environment and generate new full-time jobs.” 

As Ottawa tried to tackle new climate action goals, concern over landfills includes the release of methane gas. 

“As organic mass in landfills decomposes, methane gas is released, and data indicates that it does that for over 20 years,” said Warren. “Methane is much more effective at absorbing the sun’s heat than carbon dioxide, making it one of the most potent greenhouse gases and a massive contributor to climate change.”