The mayor of Caroline is seeking Sundre’s support in principle on a proposed public-private partnership (P3) waste-to-energy project.
However, John Rimmer made clear during council’s June 24 meeting that he is not asking for any form of financial contribution.
“We do not want any funding from Sundre,” said Rimmer.
“Just throw us your garbage.”
Members of the local municipal council had previously been invited to attend a presentation last fall on Caroline’s waste-to-energy initiative, which at the time was mainly being driven by Fogdog Energy, he said.
“Unfortunately, Fogdog has got to a certain point where the president isn’t even in Canada and their people are all over the place,” he said.
“They still have a proposal in to us that they will abide by. But we are looking at a few other options which are very similar.”
Making his case for pursuing a waste-to-energy project, Rimmer said, “We’re all a bunch of wasteful people and we generate a lot of waste. And regardless of how much recycling programs there are, only about a quarter of it actually gets recycled.”
Pointing to Sundre council’s recent decision to close down the municipality’s recycling depot, Rimmer said many people simply have no desire to take the time to make sure recyclable materials are properly cleaned and sorted.
“It’s more convenient for them to just throw it into a garbage can or a recycling bin,” he said, drawing a parallel with backcountry users.
“It’s usually the 10 per cent that screw it up for the other 90.”
The proposed waste-to-energy system will, in theory, eliminate the need to recycle, “although there should still be some recycling,” he said.
“But we’re not going to run into a shortage of plastic. And it’s becoming more and more apparent that if we don’t do something about how we handle plastic, it’s going to continue to get worse.”
In his opinion, Rimmer said one of the solutions involves generating energy from waste, a process that he claimed with current technology does not emit odours or a serious amount of emissions.
“Yes, there’s still a little bit of carbon dioxide that comes off of this, but it’s mostly nitrogen. There are no toxins emitted into the air because it’s all controlled.”
The goal at this point is to achieve viability without taxpayers directly paying, he said, acknowledging that some amount of grant funding would be required to get the project off the ground.
The intent is focused more on building partnerships among regional municipalities including Sundre, Clearwater County, Mountain View County, Red Deer County, and Rocky Mountain House, according to information outlined in his presentation.
While private money would initially be infused to get the facility going, the plan is to ultimately transfer ownership into the hands of the municipalities involved to generate revenue, said Rimmer, wondering whether Sundre would be willing to perhaps draft a letter of support or interest.
“We need community engagement,” he said.
“And that’s all I’m requesting.”
Existing technology that has already been used in China and Europe has been proven and improved, whereas in North America, the traditional approach has largely just been to dig a hole and dump everything in, he said.
A dilemma in this region revolves around the Mountain View Regional Waste Management Commission, which he said has plans to open another cell. But there’s a substantial long-term liability associated with landfills that represents a major burden for small municipalities, he said.
“That’s what I don’t think a lot of us understand, is that even once a cell is closed off, and packed off, and left off to the side, that liability continues on forever. And those liners don’t last forever,” he said, referring to a protective layer that is supposed to prevent leakage from permeating into the ground.
“Those liners will break down, they’ll start leaking into our aquifers and our groundwater,” he said, adding the time to move away from landfilling has come.
Beyond seeking a letter of support, Rimmer added the only other request would be for a commitment to supply non-recyclable material — not just urban household waste but also agricultural and even sewage — since a minimum amount of tonnage would be required to make the facility viable.
“But I think that’s for another discussion down the road.”
After wrapping up his presentation, Rimmer wondered if there were questions.
Coun. Rob Wolfe wanted to know whether there was a projected cost, to which Rimmer said including the building and equipment would be about $16 million, with a nearly three-year payout.
Coun. Cheri Funke said she did not want Sundre to be tied to that $16 million, but was favourable to a motion expressing support.
Coun. Richard Warnock asked where the facility would be built if the project proceeds, and Rimmer said the location currently being looked at is near Caroline’s lagoons.
Mayor Terry Leslie, who joined the meeting by phone, agreed with a motion to write a letter of support, which he said would offer an opportunity to further investigate details including Sundre’s commitments to the waste commission.
Funke made a motion to that extent, which council carried.
