A plan to build a new 300,000 tonne per year waste to energy facility in the Region of Peel, Ontario has been approved by Peel Regional Council.
According to the council the Peel Energy Recovery Centre facility will use established waste to energy technology to treat residential waste to generate electricity while also recycling metals.
The council added that once operational the plant will enable the Region to reduce the overall volume of waste going to landfill by up to 90%.
The council said that in 2010 it directed the Region to conduct a Long-term Waste Disposal Study to identify the preferred long-term waste disposal method for Peel.
Taking into account Peel’s specific social, environmental and economic considerations, the Study identified the use of an established waste to energy technology along with landfill disposal as the preferred option for Peel.
“The development of the Peel Energy Recovery Centre is a key component of the Region’s Long Term Waste Management Strategy, which aims to recover and effectively use resources from our waste stream so we can conserve natural resources,” explained councillor Sanderson, chair of the council’s Waste Management Committee.
Norm Lee, director of waste management for the Region of Peel added that in a survey conducted last fall, residents told the council that they wanted the Region to work towards reducing waste generation and increasing resource recovery in a way that protects the environment
The survey was also said to have demonstrated that the majority of Peel’s residents supported the development of a waste to energy facility within Peel, over hauling waste to an out-of-Region landfill.
In 2012, the Region disposed of over 250,000 tonnes of residential waste, which the council said remained even after residents had reduced, reused, recycled and composted their household waste.
According to the council, even with planned diversion programs such as bi-weekly waste collection, enhanced recycling programs and the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility initiatives, current waste and household growth projections show that when the new centre opens in 2020, the Region will need to dispose of more than 270,000 tonnes of waste per year – rising to as much as 400,000 tonnes per year over the facility’s projected 30-40 year lifespan.
Environmental protection
To ensure that local residents and the environment as a whole are protected, the council said that the Peel Energy Recovery Centre will use advanced technologies to control and monitor emissions.
The Region will also undertake a provincially regulated Environmental Screening Process to identify the potential environmental effects of this project and determine how best to address them, which will include conducting detailed studies on air quality, health, ground and surface water, traffic, noise, etc.
Source: Waste Management World
