Bennett Environmental may soon be no more as the toxic-soil treatment firm in New Brunswick attempts to change its corporate name.

The company has faced intense opposition to its plant in Belledune from worried neighbours who don't want contaminated soil imported to their community.

Bennett Environmental spokesman Michael McSweeney says the company has been wanting to ditch its name for a long time in favour of Terra Cycle Environmental.

McSweeney says the new name better reflects the company's purpose. "We like to be seen as a recycler, so Terra for soil, Cycle for recycle, put it together and we want to rebrand ourselves as Terra Cycle Environmental."

Bennett's motto "The Earth is Our Business" will stay the same, but some say the company's many business troubles could be driving the name change.

Florian Levesque has led the fight against the Belledune plant and says the name Bennett is synonymous with controversy.

"It's heavily damaged as it is and like, there's not much choice for the company to try to hide themselves and find another name."

The plant was controversial even before it was built. Residents didn't want it and are still fighting the government over the building permit that was issued to allow constuction to begin.

After the plant went up, it became a magnet for community protests and angry confrontations. The opening was delayed for more than a year after a major contract to supply contaminated dirt from New Jersey collapsed.

The company's overall stock values have plummeted and shareholders launched lawsuits claiming they were misled about its potential profits.

Bennett Environmental has another, similar plant in Quebec that has also struggled to find enough contaminated dirt to keep it going.

Industry Canada has approved the name change but shareholders will make the final decision at their annual meeting in Toronto this August.