The Québec-based company issued its third-quarter report for 2020 and states that building construction on the site off of Tupper Street in Hawkesbury’s industrial park is 90 per cent complete. Installation of equipment for the four operation sections continues on scheduled.

As of the end of September the company has spent almost $20 million on its Hawkesbury project, including costs for land purchase, site preparation, construction, equipment purchases, and other expenses.“ The company has also begun a hiring promotion campaign.

“Management believes that the project will be completed on budget,” stated the report, “and expects to begin commercial operations by the end of April 2021.”

The company is also working on securing supplies of used tires for the plant. Once in operation, the Hawkesbury plant with use Ecolomondo’s cutting edge thermal decomposition process (TDP to break down old tires for recovery of carbon black, rendered oil, steel, and fibre. The process will also result in production of small amounts of methane gas that will assist in fueling the plant’s heating system and so help reduce some operation cost.

Company projections estimate the plant will be able to process a minimum of 14,000 tonnes of tire waste each year and produce 5300 tonnes of recovered carbon black, 42,700 barrels of oil, 1800 tonnes of steel, and 850 tonnes of fibre. The carbon black, also known as Mondo black, will be sold to markets in Canada, the United States, and Europe, and the recovered steel to metal recycling markets.

The tire recycling operation is the first phase planned for Ecolomondo’s Hawkesbury plant. The second phase, once the plant’s operation is well established, calls for expansion of the facility’s setup to allow for recycling of all types of used plastic, from single-use plastic bags to farm plastic used for baling hay. More details on the company’s Hawkesbury project are at www.ecolomondo.com.