A Regina company is making use of its expertise in handling hazardous biomedical waste to diversify into agriculture.
Sanitec Canada has developed a new method for the sometimes prickly problem of disposing of unwanted seed that has been treated with pesticide.
However, one seed industry representative said some in the industry are withholding judgment on the company’s process until they see more data on how well it works and how much it costs.
Sanitec said its process makes the seed nonviable so it won’t germinate, and degrades or decomposes the chemical coating. Once the seed has been processed, says general manager Peter Klaptchuk, it becomes an environmentally safe, nutrient-rich product.
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The processed seed can be used as compost, or, because it remains high in nitrate content, it can be used to enhance the reclamation of soil contaminated with hydrocarbons.
The colourful phrase that Klaptchuk uses to describe the benefits of the Sanitec process is “there is no garbage can attached.”
In other words, nothing harmful is disposed of into the air, land or water, through burial or incineration.
“Basically we’re speeding up Mother Nature’s processes,” Klaptchuk said. “When we put it into the soil, within a month it turns back into soil. There is no negative environmental impact whatsoever.”
Treated seed generally consists of around 10.7 percent chemical by volume. According to information published by Sanitec, tests by an independent laboratory show that the company’s processing reduces that to less than one-tenth of one percent.
An industry official who has worked on a Canadian Seed Trade Association committee dealing with the issue of treated seed disposal said he’d like to see more data about the Sanitec process.
“I think there needs to be some studies conducted to have some proof to confirm that the seed treatment is rendered inactive,” said Grant Ozipko.
There are also cost issues to be addressed, because the owner of the seed not only has to pay for the processing, but also to dispose of the seed after it has gone through the Sanitec plant.
Ozipko said most seed companies are careful in managing their production and inventory to avoid having to dispose of any significant volumes of waste. Companies generally put off applying the chemical treatment as long as possible, so if seed does go out of condition for any reason, it will be easier to deal with.
“They rarely have large quantities of inventory carryover from one year to the next,” said Ozipko.
Waste treated seed has traditionally been disposed of in one of three ways – planting, burial at a landfill or incineration.
Planting involves seeding the waste at a rate of up to three times the regular rate, then plowing down the green matter prior to maturity or killing it with herbicide. Future land use may be restricted due to insecticide residues. Also, suitable land and willing farmers can be hard to find and the method cannot be used with certain types of treated seed.
The rules governing burial vary depending on whether the waste seed is considered to be hazardous, as in the case of lindane, or not, as is the case for all new seed treatments. There are two approved hazardous waste landfills in Canada; Ryley, Alta., and Sarnia, Ont. The Ryley facility accepts material only from Alberta, because of regulations prohibiting the import of hazardous waste into the province. Seed treated with fungicides only is considered non-hazardous by Alberta. Since the waste seed is not destroyed, environmental liability remains permanently with the generator of the waste.
Incineration eliminates environmental liability because the waste is burned into non-toxic ash. The only hazardous waste incinerator is located in Swan Hills, Alta. It can accept seed from other provinces, but the cost is high.
Despite the reservation expressed by Ozipko, Klaptchuk described the response from the seed industry as positive.
“People see it as a wonderful way to get rid of this crap,” he said.
