The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) has awarded a $288-million tender to Harbour City Resources to build and operate a new composting facility over 25 years. The new plant will replace the two aging systems operating in Burnside and Goodwood.
“It will be a state-of-the-art facility, with advanced screening and odour mitigation,” said Andrew Philopoulus, HRM’s manager of solid waste. “It will incorporate what’s known as an airlock on all shipping doors.”
The new plant will be constructed at the current Goodwood site and will be able to manage approximately 60,000 tonnes of organic waste a year. Harbour City Resources has built and operated similar facilities in Calgary, Hamilton and Guelph.
The new system will increase Halifax’s annual composting costs by 17.5 per cent or $2.2 million.
Councilor Tim Outhit told the CBC that he hopes a brand new plant will mean grass clippings will be allowed back into the green carts. “We will be able to look at some program changes knowing that they can be accommodated in the new facility,” said Outhit. “That’s encouraging.”
Meanwhile, Councilor Patty Cuttell, who represents Goodwood, is concerned about the increased truck traffic and plans to ask for a staff report to consider community compensation for the Goodwood area since it will be the host for the municipality’s composting operation for another 25 years.
