by Sylene Argent
On Monday evening, Essex Council learned about the regional organics waste program the Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority (EWSWA) is trying to implement, due to a looming provincial policy.
Michelle Bishop, Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority, General Manager, noted through the Organics Provincial Policy Statement, some municipalities in Essex-Windsor will have to achieve specific reduction or recovery target rates by 2025.
Food and organic waste include food scraps and soiled paper.
Knowing this, Bishop said the EWSWA Board approved development of Regional Food and Organic Waste Management Plan in October of 2020. The following month, the EWSWA Board approved an Oversight Committee and Working Group, consisting of EWSWA, City of Windsor, and County of Essex representation. In December, EWSWA Board approved the consultant (GHD Limited).
On June 1, 2021, the EWSWA Board reviewed the findings of the Plan, and directed EWSWA Administration to conduct a third-party review of the GHD Report. Tetra Tech Canada Inc. was retained following a competitive bidding process. Then, in September and October, Tetra Tech’s findings were reported to the EWSWA Board, which recommended all eight local communities be approached to be a part of a regional solution.
During the process, Bishop said consultation took place with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks, regarding potential changes to the Organics Provincial Policy Statement, and a potential ban on organic disposal at the landfill with 2030 being the tentative date.
Based on populations from the 2016 census, some municipalities in Essex-Windsor are required to achieve specific reduction and recovery target rates by 2025. The City of Windsor will need to provide curbside collection of food and organic waste to single family dwellings in an urban settlement area and to achieve a target rate of reduction of 70 percent.
Amherstburg, LaSalle, Leamington, and Tecumseh will need to provide collection (through a public drop-off depot or community composting area or through curbside collection) of food and organic waste to single family dwellings in an urban settlement area and to achieve a target rate of reduction of 50 percent.
Essex, Kingsville, and Lakeshore will not be required to achieve specific rates of reduction for food and organic waste.
Bishop said consideration needs to be given for growth in each municipality that is currently not required by the province to implement changes.
Even with the leaf and yard waste program EWSWA already provides, Bishop said it is estimated around 35,000 metric tonnes of residential food and organic waste were sent to the landfill for disposal from Windsor and Essex County in 2020.
She explained around 60 percent of total waste generation from the region consists of non-organic materials. Around nine percent of waste generated consists of yard waste, which is currently captured in the existing Yard Waste Collection Program.
Around 31 percent of waste generated consists of organic matter that is currently sent to landfills
She said there are various technologies to process food and kitchen waste, such as composting - decomposition of organic matter by bacteria in an oxygen-rich environment, and anaerobic digestion – the decomposition of organic matter by bacteria in an oxygen-limited environment.
There are also new technologies, where the material is dried and the output at the end of the process, in some cases, can be a fertilizer material. It also produces renewable natural gas.
With any waste processing facility, odour is always a concern, so EWSWA has to explore odour prevention methods, Bishop said.
As far as location, Bishop said she believes there are synergies at the regional landfill. She said the landfill’s natural gas currently being flared would be combined with the anaerobic digestion gas material and it could be sold to create renewable natural gas, which could offset expenses.
She also noted the Windsor Biosolid Plant, where sludge material is currently being pelletized, would be combined with the organic material, to create renewable, natural gas, also creating a revenue stream.
It was also identified that some potential locations for the program would be dependent on which municipalities are participating at the offset of the program.
Municipalities do not want to commit to the program until they know the cost, however, EWSWA will not know costs until it knows who is participating. Bishop noted when Tetra Tech was conducting a peer review, they were asked to estimate costs on three alternatives.
Based on that, for the first year in 2025, the estimate for the Town of Essex for composting at the Regional Landfill is $305,462. Anaerobic digestion at the Landfill would be $443,295 in 2025. Anaerobic digestion at the Windsor Biosolid Processing Facility would be $630,029 that first year. The chart shows the costs increasing per year.
Bishop added Tetra Tech was also asked to review the EWSWA’s 15-year forecast and estimate the cost of anaerobic digestion at the landfill, assuming a regional solution. In 2025, she said, there is an estimated increase of the EWSWA’s budget of around $7.5 million.
She said best practice would be to have weekly organics collections and biweekly garbage collections.
Information municipalities should consider, even if they may not be required to participate, includes that participation at the onset would ensure consistency with service levels, a regional collection system would be considered with one contract, a regional promotion program would be created, and a regional approach would result in higher diversion and lower cost per tonne.
Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche asked about organic collections in other municipalities and if any have been successful in eliminating odour. Bishop said there are some municipally-owned anaerobic digestion facilities that have little odour issues. She said there were some private facilities that may not be held to the same standards as municipally-owned facilities, which comes down to implementing those standards.
Councillor Kim Verbeek and Meloche spoke about potential gas revenue and the struggle to implement that in the past. Verbeek also spoke of concerns with odour.
Councillor Sherry Bondy said this file is expensive and contentious. She said it should not be a regional issue, with each municipality needing something different. She said she feels Essex is being pulled into a problem that doesn’t exist for it.
She and Councillor Morley Bowman spoke of the success of Essex Centre’s green bin program. Bondy added there are many rural residents already composting.
Councillor Chris Vander Doelen wondered what happens if the plan is entered, if there are neighbourhoods that do not comply.
Bishop said they are not at the point of creating penalties.
Deputy Mayor Meloche said with a potential ban of organic waste to the landfill, Essex has to be part of this program. Perhaps the urban centres can be involved initially.
He suspects if Essex waits to get involved, the cost to join in the future will be astronomical.
Verbeek suspects that if the ban takes place, by 2030 there will be less expensive options to dispose of kitchen scraps.
Mayor Larry Snively said Essex Council would have to meet again to further discuss the matter before making a decision.
Council received the presentation.