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An unwavering dedication to a more sustainable tomorrow

Few people can say that television helped changed their life - let alone helped change the world. Yet for André Laflèche, seeing a documentary on television in 1973 about the problems Europe was facing with its garbage was the singular catalyst for a remarkable environmental achievement.

The televised documentary that Mr. Laflèche saw right before his eyes led him to develop a sustainable legacy right under his feet: the Laflèche Environmental BioReactor.

While Mr. Laflèche's vision began incubating that day in 1973, it wasn't until the 1980s arrived that he was able to put his ideas into action. Coming forth as a concerned citizen, he presented his ideas for sustainable waste management strategies to be integrated into a municipal waste management master plan.

His ideas were met with support from the municipalities, but no one was willing to take the ball and run with it. André did more than continue to promote his vision; in 1987 he bought a parcel of land in Moose Creek that would be the site for his revolutionary ideas.

Realizing after a few years that he lacked the resources necessary to complete the project, in 1991 Mr. Laflèche sold his project to BFI, one of North America's largest full-service waste management companies. In 1996, however, BFI was going through several major project cutbacks, and decided to shelve the Moose Creek project.

But André Laflèche believed strongly in his vision, and so he bought back the land in 1996. Martin Zimmer, a civil engineer with 20+ years of experience in waste management, joined André in 1997, as did Jean-Marie Laflèche, a Chartered Accountant who ran his own accounting firm for almost 20 years.

With this vital expertise in place, André and his team at Laflèche Environmental proceeded to complete the project. A certificate of approval was received in 1999, construction began in June of 2000, and the Laflèche Environmental BioReactor received its first shipment of waste in January 2001.

Today, it receives waste not only from local municipalities, but also commercial waste from Toronto, Ottawa, Eastern Ontario, and the St. Lawrence corridor.

The Laflèche Environmental BioReactor has come a long way since it began being conceived back in 1973. While its history as a fully functioning waste management facility does not go back very far, its future - and our collective future - looks bright for many years to come.