Surge in composting has Greater Sudbury looking for new ways to process organic waste
A move to extend the life of Greater Sudbury's landfill has worked so well, it has created new challenges for city staff.
In recent years, Sudbury has gradually reduced garbage collection from two bags a week to two bags every second week. The goal was to divert garbage away from the landfill, extending the life of the city dump.
But the surge in local composting has created a new problem: where to compost almost double the amount of organic waste residents are now discarding every week.
A report headed to the city's operation committee Sept. 20 says the amount of organic waste collected each year has risen from 2,095 tonnes a year in 2015 to 3,957 tonnes in 2020.
That material – separated into food waste and leaf and yard waste – is composted on the grounds of the Greater Sudbury Landfill. However, that area will eventually be needed to hold garbage. And with the growing amount of compost, a solution will be needed soon.
Under the current methods, it takes between six to eight months to compost the material, "but it is a cost-efficient method of managing the material," says a staff report on the issue.
"The organic processing facility is situated on a temporary area within the waste disposal footprint of the Sudbury Landfill, which will eventually need to be moved in order to fill the area with garbage."
With plans in place to expand the green cart composting program into other areas of the city, a long-term solution is needed, the report said.
Short term, a temporary area is being prepared for composting at the landfill. That also comes with challenges, the report said.
"Regardless of its location within the waste disposal footprint, this system poses operational challenges such as naturally occurring settlement of the pad area, pooling of water, and leachate seepage that require ongoing maintenance," the report said.
"In addition, during the relocation process, significant costs are incurred for construction of new pad and pen areas."
A partnership with Vale has eased the problems. Vale is taking semi-process leaf and yard waste and mixing it with other material and placing it in tailings areas to reclaim the soil.
"To date, the pilot project is considered a great success and Vale has expressed interest in expanding the pilot to include food and organic waste material," the report said.
"Staff are working with Vale to consider the addition of food and organic waste to the pilot project. If implemented, semi-processed food and organic waste could be shipped to Vale’s facility where it would be mixed with other compostable materials and then finally used in soil remediation activities on tailing lands."
Long-term, switching to what's called "anaerobic composting" would produce methane gas that could be captured and used to generate energy.
"After digestion, the remaining material can be further processed aerobically to produce compost," the report said.
Read the full report here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.