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By JENNIFER DUNVILLE
dunville.jennifer@dailygleaner.com

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The Fredericton Region Solid Waste Commission wants to expand its recycling facility.

Enlarge Photo

The Daily Gleaner/James West pho

Need more room: Gordon Wilson, general manager of the Fredericton Region Solid Waste Commission, poses for a photo in the middle of a pile of recyclable paper products Wednesday afternoon.

The operation handles about 6,300 tonnes of material a year, but the potential expansion would allow it to recycle about 10,000 tonnes.

Brad Janes, the commission's manager of public relations, said a request for proposal has been issued and landfill employees are waiting to hear from local businesses.

"This project is really in its infancy," Janes said. "We're just now asking companies, businesses or designers to have a look at our present operation and propose what they would do to increase our capacity."

The landfill's materials recovery facility, which houses the contents from the region's blue- and grey-box program, was constructed in 1989 and was expanded in 1998 and 2004.

Janes said the goal for the next expansion would be make it big enough that it wouldn't have to expanded again in a few years.

"We service about 120,000 residents with our blue- and grey-box program, but we're seeing more and more people come on board with recycling," Janes said. "With environmental awareness growing, we know the need for a larger recycling facility is just going to keep getting bigger."

Commission CEO and general manager Gordon Wilson said he's impressed with how residents in the region are embracing recycling initiatives.

He said those efforts are extending the life of the landfill.

"To think we're entering another potential expansion phase is outstanding," Wilson said. "Recycling continues to be an educational path, but our numbers are showing many efforts are paying off with the response we receive."

Recycled materials from the site are packaged in bales weighing approximately 700 kilograms.

Those bales are sold across the country, the United States and Asia.

The Fredericton Region Solid Waste Commission was the first landfill in the province to bale garbage, offer a household hazardous waste program, and build a landfill gas management system and a curbside recycling program.

It's also home to the first office paper collection program.

"We're proud of the work we do at the Fredericton Region Solid Waste Commission on a daily basis and for forging ahead with projects the commission understands are of great importance to the public," Wilson said.

"We look forward to the proposals (for expanding our recycling facility) to see what options await us."