Bartels Environmental Services Inc.
From its origins three decades ago as a family agricultural business, Bartels Environmental Services Inc. (BESI) has grown into an organization that provides expertise and raises awareness for biogas & RNG in Canada. Starting out in waste management, the company then moved into biosolids and fertilizers and eventually into anaerobic digestion.
Recently, their focus has moved to food waste in the southwestern Ontario region, diverting waste from food manufacturing facilities away from landfills to anaerobic digestion. Another area the group is working on is raising awareness of digestate and partnering with others to boost knowledge of the topic.
The last few years have also seen room for adaptation in the fertilizer space. The supply chain and manufacturing issues experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic hit some of the larger suppliers hard. Small groups have been able to make up for that gap and the demand is only going to continue growing, says Mark Elias, BESI’s marketing manager.
Scaling existing anaerobic digestion projects is also top of mind for the company. “Demand is there, but there need to be more drivers in place to make it happen,” says Elias.
Bringing information to those who have some understanding of biogas and those starting from square one is important, and BESI works hard to not lose sight of their beginnings on that family farm. Elias says, “We know farmers tend to be more offline than other groups, so we are working to find ways to get the information to them and help them understand the benefits of digestate management and anaerobic digestion.”
BESI has been a member of the Canadian Biogas Association for several years and enjoys being part of an association bringing like-minded people together. The connections made through the CBA are valuable for getting the word out, advocacy and learning about new technology.
Over the next five to ten years, BESI will be keeping a close eye on where biogas can continue to make an impact. Says Elias, “We’ll be watching to see where biogas can play a role in the push for a circular economy. There’s opportunity for energy from waste to be utilized at every level from food production to trucking,” a boon for Canada’s net-zero emission goals.
