Targeting Zero Waste

An OSLI program is focused on eliminating waste from oil sands development, with a stretch goal of zero waste. The program is looking at finding uses for materials such as the large tires used on heavy machinery in oil sands mining and mature fine tailings from mine tailings ponds.

All waste streams from mining and in situ operations will be examined to determine how they can be put to other uses to become a revenue stream or be used as building blocks for land reclamation or ecosystem regeneration.

The program will provide OSLI with a systematic and holistic approach to integrating processing, utility and transportation systems. It will examine inefficiencies arising from the current situation where wastes are handled project by project or company by company, and look for synergies between oil sands companies as well as with non-oil sands industries. The program team is reviewing opportunities that would likely not be tackled alone by a single company but that make sense if using a collaborative approach.

The program will focus on the triple bottom line of sustainability performance — economic, social and environmental. It recognizes there is a strong alignment between what regional stakeholders and industry shareholders want. Regional stakeholders want lower carbon dioxide emissions, and reductions in water use and land footprint, and industry shareholders want to achieve these reductions in an economical manner. As part of this program, a project is now underway to fully understand the region’s industrial flows of energy, products and waste streams in order to provide a grounding document for the development and evaluation of future projects.