An Innisfail insulation manufacturing plant is taking a new step in its ongoing mission to make environmentally-friendly and sustainable choices.
The local Johns Manville plant issued public notice in January of a decision by Alberta Environment to approve a change to the plant's licence. The company was applying to switch from using a petroleum-based oil in its process to a vegetable-based oil.
Jim Wilson, plant manager, said as of Feb. 22 no local concerns had been submitted. He said it's hoped the permanent switch will happen within a month.
"You have to involve local stakeholders Ö even if it's a positive change," he said.
The plant, which has been operating in Innisfail since 1977, is changing its oil along with the rest of the Johns Manville plants. Wilson said the vegetable oil is more sustainable, has a "much different" and lower greenhouse gas emission rate than the hydrocarbon oil they were using and allows them to engineer "a more defined product."
Licensing with Alberta Environment meant the company had to conduct a trial first and then proceed with a public consultation. Wilson said the results of the trial were positive and they're awaiting the go-ahead from Alberta Environment for formal approval.
Changing to a vegetable-based oil isn't the only environmentally-friendly move the company has made at the Innisfail plant or across North America.
"One of our company's areas of focus is sustainability," Wilson said.
For the past year new stacks have been being constructed at the Innisfail location to update how they scrub exhaust.
"We've added Ö what's called wet scrubbers," Wilson said, noting it will even further reduce any fibreglass being released into the air.
It's hoped the new stacks will be fully operational in May.
Due to a licensing requirement from Alberta Environment, the plant must collect all of the water that comes onto their site. They've built collectors and reuse the water within their manufacturing processes.
"It's closed loop," Wilson said. "We recycle all the water."
Seventy per cent of the glass used to manufacture insulation at Johns Manville comes from blue box recycling programs.
"That's something we've been doing for quite some time," Wilson said.
The Innisfail location has bragging rights over all the other Johns Manville plants.
"We have the lowest amount of scrap leaving the facility," Wilson said. They recycle most things, including items like wood pallets.
Johns Manville is a 150-year-old company based out of Denver, Colo. The local plant employs about 170 people.
Wilson said continual upgrades and changes to plants and processes have been occurring for the past 10 years.
"We continue to make incremental changes to improve," Wilson said.
