With landfills and their lifespans becoming an increasing issue, Brockton is investigating ways to extend their life cycles.
One solution being looked at is with Sustane Technologies, a Nova Scotia-based company that takes municipal solid waste and turns it into fuels and recyclable materials.
Deputy Mayor Dan Gieruszak says this process could bring a number of advantages locally.
"It extends your landfill life ten times, so you don't have those millions of dollars in closing costs, you don't have expansion costs, and you don't have that heavy equipment asset cost of operating a landfill," he says.
Gieruszak notes that Brockton is still in a preliminary investigation phase with Sustane and nothing has been decided on, but the early findings are intriguing for the municipality, and it could lead to great things in the future.
"New jobs here locally of course, but I think the really exciting thing is we're turning a waste into an asset. We're turning something that we're just putting in the ground right now into something useful. Long-term, once a facility was up and operational, we could think about going into our landfill site, taking some of that material out, and turning it into fibre or synthetic fuel," he says.