Explosives Bring Down Grain Elevator in Calgary

The agricultural product company Cargill, based in Minneapolis, plans to recycle 99.7 percent of the rubble created from the implosion of a grain elevator in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, according to a report in the Calgary Herald. The implosion took place on Oct. 24.

Part of the reason Cargill plans to divert so much debris from the landfill is that the city of Calgary has increased its dumping fees for C&D (construction and demolition) debris from C$50 per metric ton four years ago to C$135 per metric ton, says the newspaper report.

Cargill will crush and re-use the concrete on-site to fill the hole where the elevator was situated. Rebar steel scrap and copper contained within will be processed and sold. The company expects the clean-up of the site to take approximately 10 weeks.

According to the Calgary Herald, Calgary’s city government plans to address what it says has been a major dumping problem among the C&D sector. Its plan includes setting a goal to divert 80 percent of such materials generated in the city from landfills by 2020.

The news report claims Cargill’s recycling efforts are rare Calgary, where only 10 percent of C&D debris is diverted from the city landfill.

A video of the implosion is available at the Herald web site here.