Innovative Project to Recycle Facility Earns Award

Published: Jul 04, 2019

Making something out of nothing. It can be satisfying, cost-saving, and in this case, award winning.

In 2014, Nutrien’s legacy micronutrient production facility in Fairbury, Nebraska, was brought into our Loveland Products division, but it required the remediation of soil and demolition of site buildings before it could be developed.

Nutrien’s Safety, Health, Environment and Security team worked closely with engineers, environmental consultants, and contractors to establish an adaptive site management approach to clean up the soil and demolish the facility. 

The team used an onsite treatment process to stabilize contaminated soil and reduce environmental impact. This allowed them to dispose of the soil as nonhazardous waste, saving about $2 million in disposal costs. 

Then the team recycled many components of the old facility by removing equipment and selling it for reuse, recycling scrap metal, and using concrete from the demolished structures as backfill in place of purchased fill. 

In the end, the project was completed safely, on-time, and under-budget, creating a nine-acre property for Loveland Products to develop future opportunities for the community's workforce. 

The project won the 2018 Merit Award in the Environmental category from the Nebraska Chapter of the American Council of Engineering Categories, but the positive impact on the local community is what's most gratifying for Nutrien.