Filmmaker's Idea Diverts Lots of Move Out "Garbage"

On an episode of the Guelph Politicast back in April, filmmaker Kalev Jaason talked about his documentary Diverted, and his attempt to prevent large quantities of reusable items left on the curb by students leaving town from ending up in the landfill. His efforts have not been in vein, as 25 different local organizations have become the beneficiaries of the diversion tactics of Jaason and a team of volunteers.

GUELPH POLITICAST #119 - Move Out Madness

It's April, and you know what that means! No, we've already had Easter. And April Fools' Day. Sure, Earth Day is next weekend, but we're here today to talk about Move Out Madness, the annual scramble by University of Guelph to pack up their Guelph lives and head home for summer jobs or vacations. This is easier said than done.

Sniffing Out Some Solutions

If something smells strange in your naeighbourhood, and you think it might be the new Organic Waste Plant on the next block, then an event on Monday might interest you. 

According to the below press release from the city, there is a plan in motion to deal with the smell coming from the plant that was discovered last month. The release mentions that there are several potential solutions on the table, all developed by Maple Reinders, the company that build the plant in partnership with the City of Guelph. The plan's been vetted by the Ministry of the Environment and a third party, and now it's ready to go to the public.

Read on to get more details from the release:

Plastic Garbage Bags out in 2012

As of 2012, you won't be able to put your recyclable and organic compost in plastic bags anymore. The move was approved by council last night in order to comply with a provincial mandate to stop the collection of organic waste in plastic bags, as well as being a component of the new Organic Waste Processing Facility.

It's interesting to gage reaction to this news because a lot of it sounds like the criticism of Wet/Dry when it was first introduced: the expense, the inconvenience, the burden. People were just genuinely abrasive towards the idea that we could no longer cram all our garbage into a big black bag, put it on the curb and forget about it. Now, all those years later, the Wet/Dry program is just a thing we do. It became a model for other municipalities and anyone that still complains about it is like the guy that refuses to give up his telegraph machine for the internet.

Check out the press release here.

GUELPH, ON, August 31, 2010 – Guelph’s curbside waste collection system will begin collecting waste in carts instead of bags for household organics, recyclables and waste in 2012. The carts, once collected, will be emptied into new waste collection trucks with the use of an automatic arm.

Council made the decision to switch to carts at last night’s City Council meeting in order to comply with a condition of the new Organic Waste Processing Facility’s (OWPF) Certificate of Approval (C of A) issued by Ministry of the Environment (MOE). The condition requires the City to no longer collect organic waste in bags, including compostable plastic bags.

“Ensuring the new organics facility complies with MOE regulations is a top priority,” said Dean Wyman, Manager of Solid Waste Resources. “Converting to a cart-based collection system will mean less waste in the landfill, which everyone in Guelph can be proud of.”

Conversion will be phased in over a three year period, starting in 2012, to help manage the costs of the conversion.

The City has also been approved for a $1.3M Continuous Improvement Fund (CIF) grant from Waste Diversion Ontario which it will use to cover a portion of the capital costs of converting the Dry (recyclables) stream to a cart-based system.

The City considered several alternatives to waste collection methods that require bags. One included converting the organics stream alone to carts which would require investing in retrofitting the City’s collection fleet. In the end Council approved the conversion of all three streams—wet, dry and waste—which requires new automated trucks to collect the carts.

Council’s decision is supported by a third party peer review conducted by BMA Management Consulting Inc. which concluded the most cost efficient option over the long-term is converting to the fully automated cart collection system.

This method of collection is regarded as an industry best practice and many Ontario municipalities have similar systems in place. Guelph’s new system will increase waste diversion, create operational efficiencies, and brings with it the following benefits: more frequent and convenient yard waste pick up; less waste sent to landfill; and a reduction in the City’s carbon footprint because four fewer collection trucks will be required.

About the new Organic Waste Processing Facility (OWPF)
Guelph's new state of the art OWPF is scheduled to begin operating in fall 2011 and will be located at the Waste Resource Innovation Centre, 110 Dunlop Drive. This Facility will process Guelph’s wet waste stream (organic waste) into clean, organic compost. The OWPF is expected to increase Guelph's diversion rate by 10 per cent.

Easier Battery Disposal Today

The City of Guelph is apparently pleased to announce that you can dispose of your batteries at seven conveniently located spots across the city in our local libraries and city hall. Here's the details in this press release.

GUELPH, ON, August 30, 2010 – There are seven new locations across the city where residents can drop off their used batteries for free recycling, starting today.

All six Guelph Public Library branches and City Hall have bins in place to collect single use, rechargeable, button cell, 9V and lithium batteries for recycling.

"Making responsible disposal of used batteries even easier to access will encourage greater participation in this recycling program" said Heather Connell, the City’s Program Development Supervisor at Solid Waste Resources.

The City will also continue to collect used batteries at the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Depot, located at the Waste Resource Innovation Centre at 110 Dunlop Drive. For hours of operation, visit guelph.ca/wetdry.

Last year a total of 8,909 kilograms of alkaline and rechargeable batteries were recycled through the HHW Depot.

This initiative will increase waste diversion and is aligned with the recommendations of the Solid Waste Management Master Plan, published in 2008.

Organic Waste Plant: The City Dossier

Today, the CIty of Guelph released the "backgrounder" for the new Organic Waste Processing Plant which will be will be located at the Waste Resource Innovation Centre, 110 Dunlop Drive once completed in 2011.

If you want to see the whole dossier, you can click over to the City's website here and read all about it. Below I clipped some of the pertinent highlights for your future post-dining clean-up pleasure.

Plant capacity

• Guelph currently generates approximately 10,000 tonnes of organic waste each year.
• Similar to the capacity of the original composting facility, the OWPF is designed to handle 30,000 tonnes of organic material per year to ensure efficiencies of scale (i.e. the minimum capacity in order for the facility to be economically viable) and to allow for future population growth.
• The amount of organic waste that Guelph generates is expected to grow from approximately 10,000 tonnes per year to over 16,000 tonnes annually over a 25 year period.
• To take advantage of its excess plant capacity, the City will benefit by receiving organic waste from other municipalities, which will reduce operating and capital costs. The Region of Waterloo has entered into a contract with AIM to have its organic waste processed at a facility operated by AIM. The Region will pay AIM to process its organics and the City of Guelph would receive compensation from AIM for the use of its facility should the Region of Waterloo have its organic waste processed at Guelph’s facility, reducing costs to Guelph taxpayers.

Operational costs associated with disposal and processing organic waste

• $85/tonne to ship organic waste to New York for disposal through energy-from-waste incineration (price is approximate, depends on fuel surcharge); this is the current method used by the City of Guelph and is not considered to be diversion from disposal by the Ontario Ministry of Environment.
• $100-$150/tonne to ship bagged organics to a private sector composting facility in Ontario, subject to available capacity (e.g. the Region of Waterloo currently ships its organic waste to a composting facility in Hamilton).
• $87.50/tonne (plus the capital cost of construction for the new facility) to process Guelph’s organics locally at the new organics facility.

Capital costs associated with building the new OWPF

• $32,825,000 is the total budget for the new OWPF.
• $27,524,400 to design and build the new OWPF (not including taxes).
• The remaining budget ($5.3 million) will be used to secure all necessary provincial approvals, project management, taxes and contingency.

Cost per tonne

In 2011, it’s expected to cost residents approximately $2 million* more to process wet waste than in 2010, which works out to approximately $0.70 per week, per household**. This additional cost is primarily the capital financing costs of the OWPF.

The City has the option to choose a pricing structure that would reduce the operating and capital costs of the OWPF. Later this year the City will meet with the contractor to discuss the available pricing structures.

(*Based on debt issued for the facility in 2010, completion of the organics facility in 2011, and half a year of plant operation in 2011. **Based on the average property value of $257,000.)

Note: These numbers are based on information available today and are subject to change as details are confirmed (e.g. sales tax impacts, fixed vs. sliding scale operating costs, interest rates).

Project timeline (as of this date)

• March 2010 - Provincial permits and approvals (anticipated)
• Spring 2010 - Construction to begin
• 2010 - Community Liaison Committee to be established
• Spring/summer 2011 - Anticipated start of operation
• 2011 - Staff report regarding the efficiencies of moving from bagged organics collection to using green bins will go to Council for consideration.

SUBBOR Gets Served

It appears that another hurdle in the construction of the organic waste processing plant's been cleared with this ruling. And as a bonus, it was in the City's favour. Hurrah! A court decision that's actually making us money!

SUBBOR to pay City of Guelph $2.5 million
Settlement brings successful conclusion to court battle with SUBBOR, avoiding need for future court proceedings.

GUELPH, ON, November 23, 2009 – The City of Guelph will receive $2.5 million in legal costs from SUBBOR (Super Blue Box Recycling Corporation) and its parent company Eastern Power Limited. The award is part of a settlement between the City and the two companies that comes after the Ontario Superior Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal have already ruled in the City’s favour. Guelph City Council ratified the settlement at tonight’s meeting.

SUBBOR and Eastern Power Limited will pay the City of Guelph $2.5 million in instalments, with interest payable in the event of any default in payment.

Other aspects of the settlement include SUBBOR and Eastern Power Limited’s agreement to surrender all rights to the SUBBOR building — which is located on the site of Guelph’s Waste Resource Innovation Centre — and the land on which it resides. The companies have 90 days to remove their equipment from the site, not far from where excavation is currently underway in preparation for Guelph’s new Organic Waste Processing Facility.

"We are extremely pleased the City has reached a settlement with SUBBOR and Eastern Power Limited, eliminating the need for further court proceedings," Guelph’s mayor Karen Farbridge said on behalf of City Council. "The settlement is a good one for the City, bringing successful finality to what has been a long ordeal."

Both the Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal found in favour of the City of Guelph after SUBBOR launched a lawsuit against the City in 2003, claiming $32 million in damages for an alleged breach of contract. In 2007 the Court dismissed SUBBOR’s claim and awarded full costs to the City. The Court of Appeal upheld the Superior Court’s decision and the awarding of costs against SUBBOR and Eastern Power Limited. SUBBOR’s appeal was dismissed on all counts on June 16. The City of Guelph has already been awarded and has been paid $100,000 for its costs related to the appeal.