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The city doesn’t want dirty diapers in its green bin program, but in a few years it might not have a choice.
The city is in the midst of amending its contract with Orgaworld — the company responsible for handling Ottawa’s compost — and plans on keeping diapers and other sanitary products out of the green bin. But that possibly doesn’t align with provincial plans, with Ontario eying a move to get diapers out of the regular waste stream as early as 2022.
The city says diapers belong in the dump on Trail Road, not in Orgaworld’s composting plant in rural south Ottawa.
For that reason, council next week will vote on a revised contract with Orgaworld that will continue the diaper ban. The new deal, however, would add dog waste and plastic bags as approved items for the green bin. Orgaworld is agreeing to $9.4 million in facility upgrades, including nearly $4 million in work to reduce odours.
The city didn’t have answers about the diaper issue on Wednesday, requesting that questions be asked after an environment committee meeting on Monday.
Orgaworld has regulatory approval to accept diapers, even though the city and the province’s environment ministry opposed the company’s request to add diapers to its waste stream. The Environmental Review Tribunal in November 2011 granted Orgaworld’s request to process sanitary products, human or pet waste, and waste in plastic bags at its composting facility.
The contract between the city and Orgaworld already has a provision to allow dog waste, plastic bags and diapers at a cost of $151 per tonne, compared to the current processing rate of $110.75 per tonne based on an annual 80,000 tonnes of total organic waste. The revised deal going to committee and council recommends a new rate of $126.48, taking into account the dog waste and plastic bags based on an annual 75,000 tonnes of total organic waste.
The province published a proposal last November on a food and organic waste framework. The proposed framework considers banning food and organic waste from disposal sites through a phased-in approach starting in 2022. In the document, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change says the definition of organic waste “can include” diapers.
In a report to council, the city lays out its case against accepting diapers in the green bin. Composting diapers is better suited for an anaerobic processing system, not the aerobic system used at the Orgaworld plant in Ottawa, the city says.
“Ultimately, however, in addition to the odour risk, staff believe diapers and sanitary products belong in a landfill,” the report says. “There is no value including them in the green bin, as the city would pay more for their processing, and the non-compostable parts of the diapers and sanitary products end up in a landfill anyway as residual materials.”
The city seems happy with the current system for diapers. Ottawa residents can ask the city to pick up dirty diapers and incontinence products on weeks when garbage isn’t collected. The city on Wednesday couldn’t provide the annual cost for the program.
Orgaworld has a plant in London, Ont. that processes organic waste from the Toronto area, including diapers. Foul odours coming from the plant have resulted in hefty fines and the company has been recently trying to smooth over relations with the community.
The Orgaworld plant in Ottawa has generated no complaints to the ward councillor’s office in recent years.
“Not even one call,” according to Osgoode Coun. George Darouze, who was elected in 2014. He said he’ll be canvassing his community about the proposal to include dog feces and plastic bags in the organic waste sent to Orgaworld.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
The city is in the midst of amending its contract with Orgaworld — the company responsible for handling Ottawa’s compost — and plans on keeping diapers and other sanitary products out of the green bin. But that possibly doesn’t align with provincial plans, with Ontario eying a move to get diapers out of the regular waste stream as early as 2022.
The city says diapers belong in the dump on Trail Road, not in Orgaworld’s composting plant in rural south Ottawa.
For that reason, council next week will vote on a revised contract with Orgaworld that will continue the diaper ban. The new deal, however, would add dog waste and plastic bags as approved items for the green bin. Orgaworld is agreeing to $9.4 million in facility upgrades, including nearly $4 million in work to reduce odours.
The city didn’t have answers about the diaper issue on Wednesday, requesting that questions be asked after an environment committee meeting on Monday.
Orgaworld has regulatory approval to accept diapers, even though the city and the province’s environment ministry opposed the company’s request to add diapers to its waste stream. The Environmental Review Tribunal in November 2011 granted Orgaworld’s request to process sanitary products, human or pet waste, and waste in plastic bags at its composting facility.
The contract between the city and Orgaworld already has a provision to allow dog waste, plastic bags and diapers at a cost of $151 per tonne, compared to the current processing rate of $110.75 per tonne based on an annual 80,000 tonnes of total organic waste. The revised deal going to committee and council recommends a new rate of $126.48, taking into account the dog waste and plastic bags based on an annual 75,000 tonnes of total organic waste.
The province published a proposal last November on a food and organic waste framework. The proposed framework considers banning food and organic waste from disposal sites through a phased-in approach starting in 2022. In the document, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change says the definition of organic waste “can include” diapers.
In a report to council, the city lays out its case against accepting diapers in the green bin. Composting diapers is better suited for an anaerobic processing system, not the aerobic system used at the Orgaworld plant in Ottawa, the city says.
“Ultimately, however, in addition to the odour risk, staff believe diapers and sanitary products belong in a landfill,” the report says. “There is no value including them in the green bin, as the city would pay more for their processing, and the non-compostable parts of the diapers and sanitary products end up in a landfill anyway as residual materials.”
The city seems happy with the current system for diapers. Ottawa residents can ask the city to pick up dirty diapers and incontinence products on weeks when garbage isn’t collected. The city on Wednesday couldn’t provide the annual cost for the program.
Orgaworld has a plant in London, Ont. that processes organic waste from the Toronto area, including diapers. Foul odours coming from the plant have resulted in hefty fines and the company has been recently trying to smooth over relations with the community.
The Orgaworld plant in Ottawa has generated no complaints to the ward councillor’s office in recent years.
“Not even one call,” according to Osgoode Coun. George Darouze, who was elected in 2014. He said he’ll be canvassing his community about the proposal to include dog feces and plastic bags in the organic waste sent to Orgaworld.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
