MONTREAL – The city’s office of public consultations has given a conditional green light Montreal’s efforts to establish an island-wide compost treatment network.
But a report by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal made public Wednesday notes that the ground rules for the project have changed now that Aéroports de Montréal has decided to withdraw its Dorval site from the running.
“The fundamental question is that the project the consultation finally examined is not that tabled by the agglomeration (of Montreal),” states the 100-page report.
“There are no longer four (proposed) sites, there are three … and (hearing) participants from the east (of the island) fear that all compost treatment will end up taking place in the east of Montreal because of the lack of a centre in the west and the time lag in the startup of a centre in the south.”
The Office found that “if it is so essential to establish (centres) in the north and east to start up the program … such a decision should not be made unless other decisions are made to establish centres in the west (of the island) and the south.”
Aéroports de Montréal had expressed concern that the presence of a compost centre on its grounds would attract birds and increase the risk of bird-plane collisions.
Residents of St. Michel, where the northern centre would be located, have also expressed concerns over increased traffic and pollution from a compost site in their neighbourhood.
Montreal executive committee vice-chairperson Alan DeSousa, who is responsible for sustainable development, is expected to react to the report’s recommendations Wednesday afternoon.
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