The District of Kitimat has invested in a new compost facility in an effort to reduce their community’s greenhouse gas emissions.
With both the provincial and federal governments chipping in $910,000 through their Organics Infrastructure Program, Kitimat will pay the remaining $470,000 of the $1.38 million cost.
Environmental Services Manager Juliana Christiansen-Liptak says that completion of the facility is expected by March 2024.
Kitimat started collecting food waste in January 2022, though they’ve had to send it to the regional district’s Forceman Ridge facility just outside of Kitimat which requires a service charge.
Yard waste that is collected curbside is currently being kept at the district’s landfill and is not compliant with the Organic Matter Recycling Regulations in British Columbia.
Christiansen-Liptak says that once the new facility is complete, it will be OMRR compliant, and operational costs for the district will go down due to not having to transport the organics and pay a service charge to have it processed.
The hope is also that the community will be able to utilize the processed compost in places like public parks, the district’s horticulture program, and even be used by members of the public.
Christiansen-Liptak says that the facility will only need to have 1.5 full time equivalent employees, doing concentrated work just a few times a week.
The facility will be able to process 1,500 tonnes of organic waste each year, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2,000 tonnes.
Kitimat’s investment in a local composting facility is part of their long-term efforts to reach 58 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than their 2007 levels by 2050.
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