Neepawa's councillors have expressed their support for an initiative that aims to reduce the amount of waste going into the local landfill. They were contacted by the Southwest Regional Development Corporation last month, with a request for support for the corporation's 'Gasification Demonstration Project'. Mayor Adrian de Groot says the initiative is based on technology that can take solid waste and convert it to a gas that can be burned for heat energy, leaving only recyclable, environmentally friendly ash as a by-product.

De Groot says the pilot project is based on proven technology, that would be scaled down to a smaller size to allow the equipment to be transported to different landfills. He feels it's a vitally important initiative that could extend the life of the Evergreen landfill, which currently serves several of the region's municipalities.

"The intent in the long-haul is to reduce the dependency on creating new cells for solid waste disposal areas. This, as a consequence, would reduce the unsightliness, as well as the need to bury the waste."

He notes many municipalities have been focusing on diverting waste away from landfills, in order to stop those dumping site's continued growth. De Groot notes people won't ever stop generating waste, so there needs to be a better way of dealing with it.

"There are just so many benefits to communities in the long-run if you look at the future. We're going to generate more waste, that's not going away. We need to manage it differently, and have a paradigm shift."

He says there's no real timeline for when the project could come to fruition, noting funding is still needed by the organization to full move forward. However, he feels it's vital this work moves ahead, and hopes to raise the issue at the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention next week.