Project of the City of Lévis on the Reclamation of Used Abrasives

The City of Lévis is undergoing significant economic and demographic growth, which increases the number of streets to be maintained and complicates the related logistics and means to be used. The City has already carried out a project in 2017 to decrease the amount of road salt used by 5,400 tonnes in winter 2017-2018. Based on this initial success, efforts need to be continued to address the increase in the quantity of abrasives to be processed through waste collection, pre-treatment and diversion. The goal of this pilot project is to continue optimizing the process used for spreading road salts and abrasives.

Managing used abrasives has become a challenge for the City of Lévis. This material is considered a waste material, and unless the Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (Department of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, or MELCC) provides an authorization, it must be buried in an engineered landfill site (ELS). At the current time, part of the abrasives are also used as a covering material for the ELS. In some municipalities, this type of waste is also transformed into sand (grade B) used for a limited number of applications, including construction. Without eliminating completely this type of diversion, the City of Lévis wants to diversify its options for the reclamation of used abrasives. The pilot project is focused mainly on the production of grade A sand that would be used for repairing road infrastructure under the City’s management. Other reclamation options would also be assessed, such as the construction of protective mounds and reclamation as topsoil. The transformation of abrasives into grade A sand is more difficult to achieve, but meets the demands and needs of the City.

The material’s use and the project’s success are directly related to the quality of the product generated. The transportation of used abrasives and other inputs is time-consuming, and generates significant travel costs (fuel, wear and tear on trucks, etc.) and greenhouse gas emissions.

The City completed a feasibility study in 2019 in order to carry out this project pilot. The study included screening tests and an analysis of the physico-chemical properties of the abrasives. The tests demonstrated the technical and financial feasibility of the project, in addition to assessing the potential social and environmental impacts. This pilot project will make it possible to validate the viability of the model, and to verify the variability of the chemical and physical properties of the used abrasives over the seasons as well as its compatibility with the desired type of reclamation.

This approach is perfectly aligned with the objectives of the sustainable development action plan adopted in 2014 by the City and builds on the efforts already made by the public works department. The pilot project will be carried out in collaboration with the City’s environment branch and general administration department.

Innovative aspects

• Technical innovation with a reclamation method providing a higher added value than methods applied today

Replicability

The economic benefits and potential viability of the pilot project may interest several municipalities. The City of Lévis has mentioned this project in several municipal meetings, and several municipalities have expressed a keen interest in being informed of the project’s progress. The topic of sweeping operations and waste management often comes up during intermunicipal discussions.

Environmental benefits

• Minimize the environmental impact by creating a material with properties similar to those of typically used products
• Minimize GHG emissions by limiting as much as possible the transportation of used abrasives
• Decrease the quantity of raw materials transported by truck

Economic benefits

• Limit the purchasing of raw materials
• Decrease the purchasing costs of roadwork materials through the reclamation of used abrasives

Social benefits

• Improve the quality and effectiveness of services provided to residents