Hamilton city council has reversed a decision to leave the door open for an energy-from-waste proposal that would see Hamilton "super heat" material from local blue boxes.

A council committee voted last week to amend a request for proposals (RFP) to handle the city's recyclables. The goal was to make way for a local company, AmaLaTerra, which proposes using steam reforming technology to vaporize plastic and other waste that people put in the blue box.

It would have seen the city take expressions of interest in two years from companies with other ideas. Specifically, it would have been an invitation for AmaLaTerra, which says it would put the waste in a sealed container, heat it from the outside and, to hear the company tell it, produce very little emissions.

Tom Jackson, Ward 6 (east Mountain) councillor, liked the idea last week. But at a council meeting Wednesday, he asked fellow councillors not to ratify it.

He only wanted to amend the RFP to look at options, he said. The public is concerned though, he said, and he's listening.

"I hope tonight that, either way, the conversation has started," he said. "We have a recycling problem in this community."

Tom Jackson, Ward 6 councillor, says he was willing to keep an open mind to new technology to handle blue box material. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

Michael Miscio, AmaLaTerra's president, presented to the city's public works committee last week.

He said the technology can handle any waste, including plastic and tires. Any emissions created are "well below" provincial emissions levels, he said. Those emissions are half "very, very green hydrogen," as well as "methane and carbons" that can be used to produce electricity.

The committee vote still endorsed finding a company to handle blue box material for five years, which the city is doing now. After two years, Jackson said, there would be a staff report that would open the door for expressions of interest.

John-Paul Danko, Ward 8 (west Mountain) councillor, opposed the idea.

The technology, as it stands, raises too many questions, said Danko, who called it "alchemy."

Danko said the presentation took him and others by surprise. He'd much rather press the province to continue with a plan by the former provincial Liberals to make manufacturers responsible for the waste they create.

Manufacturers are already doing it, he said. "This isn't the future. This is right now."

Other committee members said last week that they wanted to keep an open mind about AmaLaTerra's pitch. On Wednesday, they abided by Jackson's request and voted down the change.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger said he likes energy-from-waste proposals, but he wants to press the province to continue with the Waste Free Ontario Act changes too.

He'll write a letter to the province urging it to keep going with its plans.

Blue box waste is an ongoing issue with the city. China has historically been one of the biggest markets for Ontario's recyclable material, but it's gotten pickier about what it will buy. That's left Hamilton and other municipalities without a buyer for many items that used to go in the blue box.