Xinyi is committed to ensuring that the Stratford facility will meet all applicable environment standards stipulated by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), which are among the strictest standards in place in North America
Xinyi glass production incorporates the following environmental sustainability elements into its production:
- Manufacturer of Energy Saving Glass meeting Energy Star ® standard. Energy Saving Glass creates effective reduction of energy and carbon footprint
- Waste heat capture for electricity production on-site with capacity for 4.5 MW (equivalent to 3,000 homes), in addition to building space heating and hot-water supply
- Cooling water will be re-circulated for re-use and be discharged intermittently
- Glass cullet (waste or broken glass) is recycled as raw material input
- Rooftop structurally designed for future installation of solar panels
- Tree compensation planting at Perth South arboretum (@2 to 1) plus on-Site (@1 to 1)
- The glass facility will be equipped with an advanced air scrubber system to remove sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide before feeding the cleaned air to a tall stack for effective dispersion of steam and emissions. The advanced air quality control system will ensure compliance with the current air quality standards and guidelines, as well as meeting the more stringent air quality standards that will come into force in 2023.
Energy Saving Glass
Water Usage
Water is used primarily for cooling and process control as part of glass furnace operation.
The potential daily water peak flow is 2,500 cu.m.
Xinyi does not use antifreeze as cooling agents to avoid negative environmental impacts. Instead water cooling is adopted. Cooling water is re-circulated and re-used after conditioning within an enclosed system.
To conserve water usage, cooling water is released for discharge after many cycles of re-circulation and re-use. The water discharged has mineral content similar to that of incoming water supply, except at higher concentrations.
Depending on the mineral content of water supply at Stratford, water usage may be reduced further if concentration of mineral content is low.
Cooling water discharge will be treated at the municipal wastewater treatment plant. The quality of cooling water discharge is well within acceptable level for discharge to Stratford’s municipal sewer and wastewater treatment system.
The water usage of Xinyi facility will increase Stratford’s water usage by 7.8%, increasing Stratford’s total water usage from 30.8% to 38.6% of available supply.
Approximately 60% of the water usage will evaporate as steam, back to the atmosphere as part of regional and global hydrologic cycle.
Air Emission
Xinyi is committed to meeting all environmental regulations including Section 9 of the Ontario Environmental Protection Act and Ontario Local Air Quality Regulation (O.Reg.419) and have already completed work to predict the main air emissions from the facility. These studies have included preliminary dispersion modelling, which are predicting that the facility will be able to meet all Point Impingement limits, defined by the MECP’s O.Reg.419. The MECP regulates contaminants in air to protect communities who live close to these sources. As per the MECP’s Guideline A12, the regulation aims to limit substances released into the air that can affect human health and environment, and requires industry to operate responsibly under a set of rules that are publicly transparent.
A maximum ground level concentration modelling has been completed by Pinchin Ltd. The modelling shows the emission will be far less than maximum permitted limits that will be in force in the 2023 Air Quality Regulation to be in force by MECP.
Maximum Ground Level Concentration of SO2 (1-Hour Averaging Period) with 100m stack
100m Stack Emission Chart (MECP POI Limit vs Xinyi Max POI Concentration)
| Stack Height 100m | Modelling Period | MECP POI Limit (2023) (μg/m³) | Xinyi Canada Max POI Concentration (μg/m³) |
| Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) |
24-Hour Averaging Period | 200 | 18.6 |
| 1-Hour Averaging Period | 400 | 66.4 | |
| Sulphur Dioxide (SO2 ) |
1-Hour Averaging Period | 100 | 33.2 |
| Annual Averaging Period | 10 | 1.0 | |
| Particulate Matter | 24-Hour Averaging Period | 120 | 1.4 |
Carbon Emission Reductions
Estimated Carbon Reduction by Xinyi Energy Saving Glass Products:
Xinyi Stratford Energy Saving Glass Products can support 100,000 households per year equal to 70,000 metric tonnes per year (0.7 tonnes/household/year)
Estimated Carbon Reduction Producing Glass Locally:
| Company | CO2 Generated by Production (MT) |
CO2 Generated by Transporting to GTA (MT) |
CO2 Generated by Transporting to Montreal Area (MT) |
Total CO2 Generated (MT) |
Additional CO2 Generated |
| Xinyi Stratford | 0.45 | 0.013 | 0.061 | 0.463 to 0.511 | 0% |
| Company A | 0.54 | 0.124 | 0.084 | 0.664 to 0.723 | +42% to +44% |
| Company B | 0.54 | 0.044 | 0.094 | 0.584 to 0.643 | +24% to +26% |
Annual Float Glass Usage for Ontario and Quebec: 280,000 Metric Tonnes
Xinyi can help save 46,000 Metric Tonnes of Carbon per year
Overall Carbon reduction of +100,000 Metric Tonnes