A new organics processing facility site is now officially open at the Summerland Landfill, and on Friday local officials gathered for the grand opening.
The site will process all of Summerland’s yard and wood waste, agricultural organics, wastewater treatment sludge, and residential food waste.
“The need for compost is out there, everybody wants clean high-quality compost and we will be able to start producing that now,” said Summerland’s mayor Doug Holmes.
The Organics Infrastructure Program (OIP) – Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund contributed two-thirds of the cost of the project — one-third from the provincial government and one-third from the federal government. The District of Summerland was responsible for the remaining third, approximately $800,000. The total cost of the project was around $2.4 million dollars.
“By working with communities across Canada such as the District of Summerland, we are reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building more resilient communities, and creating jobs. Investments like the new compost facility allow for better waste management by diverting organic waste from landfills and turning it into clean and useful compost,” said Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault in a release.
“The new organic processing facility is an example of the leadership from the Summerland community, and how local climate action gets us closer to reaching our national emissions reduction goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.”
B.C.’s Environment and Climate Change Strategy minister, George Heyman, added that this will help keep organic waste out of the landfill and reduce greenhouse gas pollution.
“People want and deserve solutions that help address our changing climate. With our investment in new compost facilities across the province, communities like Summerland can turn their food waste into beneficial compost,” said Heyman.
Although the district has operated a composting program at the landfill for decades, new provincial regulations required Summerland to upgrade its system.
As well, newer technologies allowed for the safe composting of materials such as residential food waste.
“By working with the governments of B.C. and Canada, the district constructed a split compost site. The site allows for the separate composting of residential food waste with yard waste on one side and wastewater sludge on the other,” said Holmes.
“This innovative design allows the district to create two separate compost types at the same facility. Agriculturists are often restricted in using compost-containing wastewater sludge. Now, the district can better provide a local source of food waste compost.”
The district will be able to collect food waste from residents starting in the spring of 2024. Details on when collection will begin will be provided later this year.
By doing so, the District estimates that food waste collection from homes has the potential to divert over 500 tonnes of material from the landfill each year.
“This is important for an agricultural community like Summerland because we are able to provide a better local food waste compost that people can put on their orchards and gardens,” added Holmes.