Lévis, Quebec, May 13, 2013 – Cattle producers in Quebec and eastern Canada will see a drop in their carcass disposal and handling costs thanks to the opening today of a biomass boiler plant at the Sanimax rendering facility in Lévis, by MP Jacques Gourde (Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière) on behalf of Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture) Christian Paradis.
The plant, which is capable of destroying Specified Risk Material (SRM), was commissioned with a federal government repayable investment of up to $7.7 million and is intended to benefit cattle producers, abattoirs and meat processors.
"Our government's top priority remains jobs and economic growth, and through the Economic Action Plan we are helping the livestock sector stay competitive in national and international markets,” MP Gourde said. "This plant will help meat processors and cattle producers throughout Quebec and eastern Canada become more competitive by offering them more cost-effective and safe disposal facilities.”
In addition to being able to incinerate up to 10,350 tonnes of processed SRM annually, the plant generates enough energy to power approximately 40 per cent of its own needs. Tipping fees that are paid to abattoirs for the disposal of SRM have gone down by $22.50 per tonne, while the cost of picking up deadstock has decreased by 56 per cent (from $90/head to $40/head).
"Thanks to the $15.5M biomass boiler, we can now turn animal protein waste into energy while reducing our CO2 emissions by close to 22,000 metric tonnes a year,” said Sanimax President and CEO Martin Couture. "As you can imagine, we are very proud of our achievement.”
This project was funded under the Slaughter Waste Innovation Program (SWIP), which was part of Economic Action Plan 2011 and provided up to $40 million to support the study, development and adoption of innovative technologies or processes that help reduce processing costs or generate profits through the use or elimination of SRM.
A new Growing Forward 2 policy framework, which came into effect on April 1, 2013, will continue to drive competitiveness and long-term growth in Canada. In addition to a generous suite of business risk management programs, governments have agreed to invest more than $3 billion over five years in innovation, competitiveness, and market development.
For more information on the Growing Forward 2 agreement and the new programs, please visit agriculture.canada.ca/growingforward2.
For more information, contact:
Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972
Margaux Stastny
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Christian Paradis
Minister of Industry
613-995-9001
Mario Couture
Vice President (Strategy)
Sanimax
514-648-6001 Ext 3316
