Currently, the County hauls organics (i.e. food waste) to a processing facility in Elmira, Ontario each day. With the construction of the Environmental Resource Recovery Centre (ERRC), all organics would be processed within the County. The project has many benefits including, but not limited to, the following:
- Reduced Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from reducing the amount of transportation outside of the County
- Reduced costs associated with hauling
- Processing costs would be predictable, and there would not be concerns with ensuring capacity at external processing facilities for County materials
- Creation of more than 100 direct and indirect local jobs in construction, the trades and waste management
- Potential revenues from the sale of biogas and/or finished products
The ERRC will house an Organics Processing Facility (OPF), a Materials Management Facility for the transfer of garbage, and a Public Education Centre.
The Environmental Resource Recovery Centre will be located at 2976 Horseshoe Valley Road West, Springwater.
Project Update
A staff report (Item CCW 2024-055) was presented to Council at the Committee of the Whole meeting on February 27, 2024. The intent being to provide an update to Council on the technical and financial aspects of the project, and to recommend the best way forward for the County. On March 12th, Council made the decision to discontinue development of the ERRC at this time, and that staff instead award both short-term (3 year) and long-term (20 year) organics processing contracts.
The report can be accessed here.