TASHI FARMILO
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE
SHAWVILLE – A longtime waste facility in Shawville has been given new life under the ownership of Martin Perras, an entrepreneur whose career spans healthcare, excavation, and now, waste management. Formerly McGrimmon Cartage, the site has been rebranded as Crush Waste Management, and Perras is focused on modernizing operations and expanding services across the Pontiac.
“This site has been serving the region for years,” Perras said. “But there’s so much more it can offer—better systems, more efficient service, and a greater environmental impact. That’s the direction we’re heading.”
The facility operates as a transfer station. Waste and recycling are collected from municipalities including Campbell’s Bay, Clarendon, Litchfield, Fort-Coulonge, Mansfield, and Bristol, before being consolidated and hauled to either Lachute for landfill or Tricentris in Gatineau for recycling.
“We take in bins from across the region, sort and load them, and then transport the waste,” explained Perras. “It’s about making the system more efficient and transparent.”
Though new to the Pontiac, Perras brings a diverse background. For 16 years, he practised traditional Chinese medicine as an acupuncturist and currently owns a network of Oak Tree chiropractic and acupuncture clinics in Ottawa. In 2020, he entered the construction sector with LBL Excavation in Almonte, where he became deeply interested in recycling aggregates—reclaimed materials like concrete and asphalt.
“That interest has shaped his work at Crush Waste Management, along with his recent acquisition of Town and Country Forming, a Renfrew-based concrete forming company. While all businesses remain separate legal entities, Perras manages them under a shared structure with common standards, procedures, and mutual support.
“You look for synergies,” he said. “How can each company benefit from what the others know or do? That’s how you grow smarter.”
Among his goals is to introduce composting services to the Pontiac, which he says are long overdue.
“In Ottawa, composting is second nature, but just a short drive out of the city, it’s still not available,” he said. “I’d like to help bring that here—to create usable soil from food waste and return it to local farms. It just makes sense.”
Perras is also following the ongoing debate around waste incineration, which has generated both interest and controversy.
He believes the concept has potential—but only with caution.
“Massive incinerators might look efficient, but they create a kind of laziness—where everything just goes into the fire and recycling gets forgotten,” he said. “I think there’s space for smaller, local incinerators as part of a broader system that still prioritizes reusing, recycling, and composting.”
For now, his focus remains on the present. In just a few months, he’s introduced new staffing roles, reorganized operations, and begun preparing for broader changes aimed at improving municipal services.
“This region deserves modern, well-run waste services,” Perras said. “I’m not here to reduce what’s been built—I’m here to grow it. And I think we’re only getting started.”