The town of Neepawa's hoping to see the the Evergreen Environmental Technologies and Southwest Regional Development Corporation's gasification pilot project move forward soon. Mayor Adrian de Groot notes they continued to discuss the project, which can convert certain types of solid waste into gas, at this week's Council meeting. He notes at this point, the corporation has teamed up with an organization that works closely with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, to help acquire the resources necessary to move forward.

"Southwest Regional Development Corporation has engaged some of the resources of Eco West. There's an opportunity, to perhaps seek some funding from the federal and provincial levels of government to support this. We're not talking big bucks, but we certainly want to move forward with this opportunity."

De Groot says it's an exciting project for the regional landfill, noting they're currently working on funding proposals to help get the project moving forward.

"The next steps would be to put together the proposals, or polish them up as some proposals were developed about a year or two ago. We'll take a look at current activities, we have a new federal government and we have an election coming up provincially, so maybe there will be more traction or movement to take a look at these kinds of projects with a different view."

The gasification takes solid waste, and converts it into a gas which can be burned off, leading to little environmental impact. De Groot says their hope is to have the pilot project in place by the end of the year, citing the major benefits to the region's waste management program.

"We'd really like to see this happen this year because it impacts the growth of our cells, which is a significant investment. As well, a number of communities including ours is taking a look at how we collect, manage, and dispose of solid waste, so that would kind of go together."

He notes Neepawa initially called for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities to lobby for the funding, but have since changed avenues to work with Eco West.