A cutting-edge appliance plant slated for the town of Caraquet, on New Brunswick's Acadian Peninsula, will help the environment and the economy, the owners say.

The GreenSafe Demanufacturing plant will dismantle old appliances, such as fridges and stoves, and recycle the materials, including plastic, aluminum, copper and steel.

'I can take an environmental nasty ... and convert it into something that we need'—Peter Swire, GreenSafe Demanufacturing

It will also extract the environmentally harmful chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) found in some appliances and convert them into a product that can be used as an alternative to road salt, making it a first in North America, according to president Peter Swire.

"I can take an environmental nasty that has been proven to be bad for the ozone layer and convert it into something that we need," he said.

Construction ready to begin

Construction of the plant is scheduled to start at the end of November with a $50-million private investment, four free hectares of land from the town and a property tax break.

It's expected to be operational by the end of 2010 and will create an estimated 100 jobs, Swire said.

At least 40 truckloads of used appliances will be delivered to the plant at the town's industrial park each day, he said, which will mean a huge increase in traffic for the quiet community.

But it will be worth it, Mayor Antoine Landry said.

"It's important, if you want to survive in small municipalities like ours, to bring new industries here because it's about time municipalities stop relying on government," he said.

GreenSafe plans to build at least two other similar plants and is currently in negotiations with communities in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan, Swire said.