Fergus, Ont. man recognized for innovative aerosol recycling machine
![aerosol recycling One of DeSpray Environmental's aerosol recycling machines. (Submitted)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2024/3/22/aerosol-recycling-1-6818337-1711125953943.jpg)
A recycling machine developed in Elmira 25 years ago is being recognized on the international stage.
Mike MacKay of DeSpray Environmental, one of the equipment’s creators, has been named a “Recycling Hero” by the Global Recycling Foundation.
“It was a little overwhelming,” he said Thursday. “Redemption is maybe a good word from being 25 years of being the only voice and people telling me I’m crazy.”
The DeSpray Environmental machine takes large quantities of aerosol cans – everything from spray paint to insect repellant to deodorant – and crushes them into solid bricks of aluminum or steel. At the same time, it safely captures the containers’ contents, separating the gas propellants from the liquid waste, and compressing them into alternative fuels, which can then be burned to heat cement kilns.
“They need enormous amount of heat to make cement,” MacKay said. “It’s one of the biggest consumers of energy.”
While the technology was developed in Elmira, the machines are now being manufactured and engineered by a company in the Netherlands called Boessenkool.
There are currently around 15 of them in use across the world, including two in Canada. MacKay estimates since its creation in 1998, the technology has recycled more than 560 million aerosol cans – and that’s a big deal given what usually happens when someone tosses an aerosol can in the blue bin.
Mike MacKay of DeSpray Environmental estimates the company's machines have recycled more than 560 million aerosol cans since 1998. (Submitted)
Most people don’t realize it, but the average aerosol container is still around one-quarter full when it’s discarded – and less than five per cent are recycled properly, MacKay said.
“I call it the best kept secret,” he said. “Where do they go?”
If the cans do avoid the landfill, they’re either shredded or compressed, meaning all the gases escape into the atmosphere, he explained.
With 16 billion aerosol cans filled each year, the effect of not recycling their contents is like “a Deep Sea Horizon oil spill continuously,” MacKay said.
However, driven by environmental concerns, interest in aerosol recycling and the DeSpray Environmental equipment has exploded in the last several years, according to MacKay. The company is currently manufacturing six more machines.
“People are taking no prisoners with polluters now,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6952598.1720182505!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
NEW Hurricane Beryl makes landfall near Tulum, Mexico as a Category 2 storm
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Mexico's coast near the resort of Tulum as a Category 2 storm early Friday, whipping trees and knocking out power as it came ashore after leaving a trail of destruction across the eastern Caribbean.
'I got no remorse': Greg Fertuck, convicted of murdering missing spouse, sentenced to life in prison
Greg Fertuck will spend life behind bars with no chance of parole until he is 90 years old, a judge ruled on Thursday at Saskatoon's Court of King's Bench.
BREAKING Canada’s unemployment rate rose to 6.4 per cent in June as jobs market stalls
The Canadian economy lost 1,400 jobs in June as the unemployment rate climbed to its highest level in more than two years, Statistics Canada said Friday.
'Ford's dry summer begins': All LCBO stores closed as workers go on strike
All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
Biden ramps up unscripted events, travel and plans US$50 million ad buy amid intense scrutiny
President Joe Biden’s team is telegraphing a strategy to put the president forth for more casual, unscripted events and an accelerated public schedule as he seeks to shift the narrative away from his poor debate performance.
U.K.'s Starmer vows 'government of service' as he takes power after Labour landslide
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would lead a "government of service" on a mission of national renewal in his first official remarks Friday after his Labour Party swept to power in a landslide victory after more than a decade in opposition.
Canada's global reputation suffering under Trudeau, Garneau asserts in autobiography
Former foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau says Canada has lost its standing in the world under the tenure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he criticizes as an ill-prepared leader who prioritizes politics and makes big pronouncements without any follow-through.
How does Canada's lowest hourly minimum wage stack up to the rest of the country?
Hourly minimum wages increased in several Canadian provinces this spring with more on the horizon, which economists say will likely impact workers and businesses differently.
Possible shark sighting temporarily closes popular Maritime beach
A suspected shark sighting caused a popular Nova Scotia beach to close temporarily Thursday.