Edmonton inks deal in China to sell waste management expertise

Edmonton'sexpertise in wastemanagement is heading to China.

Waste RE-solutions, a City of Edmonton-owned private company that markets Edmonton's waste-management expertise internationally, is hoping todevelopa facility which willprocess garbagein the east-central Chinacityof Lichuan, along with Chinese partners.

Once operational, the facility wouldprocess 150 tonnes per day of Lichuan's municipal waste stream into recyclables and fertilizer for agricultural use.

Lichuanhasa population of close to 800,000.

Gary Klassen, the general manager of sustainable development for Edmonton, is accompanyingMayor Don Iveson in China as part ofa 10-daymission to Asia to develop business opportunities.

Klassen saidthememorandum of understanding is the first phase of the project.

"At this stage it's really the equivalency of a very small start up," he said. "It's exploring that potential,to see if the business model makes good sense and the returns for Edmonton will be what they needto be to continue that work."

The city is notdisclosing the value of the arrangement, saying it's too early in the process.

Edmonton diverts 52 per cent of its garbage from landfills. It hopes to raise that number to 90 per cent in the next few years when afacility to turn garbage into biofuelis up and running.