BC region gains new metals recycling service

West Kootenay, British Columbia, residents and business owners have a new location to recycle scrap metal since LocalMetal opened its doors in Genelle this spring.

After Secure Energy — headquartered in Calgary — centralized their Kootenay metal recycling facilities in January 2023, an opportunity arose.

The new Local Metal operation will serve the West Kootenay and greater area as a full-service registered scrap metal recycling yard. It is expected to employ up to five.

“Processing metal recycling here and shipping materials directly to regional mills is a win-win for everybody, emissions-wise and cost-wise,” said Local Industrial Partners vice-president of operations Garett White. “We’re motivated to make sure that the value stays within our region.”

White estimates the rural area, rich in the industrial, technology, and metallurgy sectors, generates thousands of metric tons of recyclable metal annually.

White said people had started dumping appliances illegally on the side of forestry service roads because there was no local option for proper disposal. “People were forced to use landfills and tradespeople were hauling valuable loads to the nearest facilities in Spokane, Cranbrook, or Kelowna to recycle their high-value commodities,” he said.

“We saw a need for a metal recycling facility to remain in our area, especially since BC strives to be so environmentally friendly; it just made sense to keep the service here for the local people.”

Metals are collected, shredded, processed, and sent directly back to mills to create a product to spec, emitting far less carbon and using resources more efficiently than manufacturing new material from raw ore.

“It’s not only good business but also more environmentally friendly than going out and mining ore. We are essentially mining urban areas for materials that we already have,” White noted.

“Our focus now is on educating our communities on what can be recycled to help clean up our neighbourhoods and put money back into residents’ pockets.”

The collection site accepts all metals except sealed containers like propane tanks, or wet (oil or fuel filled) units.

Residents and business owners can take their scrap metal in themselves and receive a payout or take advantage of Local Metal’s roll-off bin truck for one-time pick-ups or long-term operational bin service.

The company also provides mobile demolition and clean-up services for industrial boneyards and agricultural, farm, or estate properties, using equipment including a shear, baler, and excavator equipped with a magnet to efficiently remove all metal from a site.

Local Metal was founded by Local Industrial Partners Ltd., a group of engineers and environmental technologists with over 50 years of combined industry experience.