Maple Leaf’s $112 million pork plant to be built here is getting the thumbs up from one of the city’s most outspoken environmentalists.
Bill Paton said the hog plant’s stand-alone waste treatment facility, separate from the city plant, has fueled his optimism.
“It will operate completely on its own,” said Paton, a botany professor at Brandon University.
During the design phase, Paton said he’ll encourage Maple Leaf to follow the latest methods of “industrial ecology,” including removing the meat and other usable byproducts in as pure a form as possible.
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Less complex waste material will result.
A cut and kill hog plant typically produces waste up to 30 times stronger in odor and organic content than human sewage.
“People remember the old rendering plant system of taking the waste and trying to extract usable products.”
That’s not necessary with today’s technology, he said. Effluent that is discharged into the Assiniboine River will have to comply with federal standards for potential toxic and organic content, Paton said.
The 300-acre plant site will be located three kilometres east of Brandon, in the city’s industrial park.
The stand-alone system is part of an $8.5-million incentive package put together by the federal and provincial governments and the city of Brandon to clinch the deal, said Manitoba agriculture minister Harry Enns.
Of that, close to $5 million will pay for the waste water treatment facility and the remainder will fund a training program to make sure Brandon has the needed workforce.
Paton said Brandon mayor Reg Atkinson called him a week before the official announcement to find out if Paton would speak against it.
“I’ve been fairly outspoken over the years with developments that have a potential human or environmental impact,” Paton said.
The plant will pay industrial rates to use water from the City of Brandon water supply.
As a world-class facility, Paton said he expects the processing line will be built using the most modern technology to maximize water recycling and minimize waste.
