Waste Management announces West Carleton Environmental Centre

Environmental Centre represents new approach to waste management in the City of Ottawa

OTTAWA, April 13 /CNW Telbec/ - Waste Management today announced a proposal to develop the West Carleton Environmental Centre, a new, multi purpose waste management facility to serve the City of Ottawa.

"The West Carleton Environmental Centre (WCEC) represents an entirely new way to address waste management in our region," said Ross Wallace, Waste Management's manager for the new WCEC. "Our facility will have new or expanded industrial, commercial and residential diversion and recycling operations to divert as much waste as possible away from disposal. The WCEC will create up to 75 green jobs and provide economic benefits in excess of $1 million per year and additional lands will be set aside for community recreational purposes and wildlife habitat. The facility will also have a new, state-of-the-art, environmentally engineered landfill for disposal of residual waste, and a state-of-the-art landfill gas to energy facility to convert landfill gas into clean, renewable energy and which will eventually power greenhouses that will be built on the site."

The WCEC will also be aligned with the City of Ottawa's long term waste management goals and the province's environmental values and policy statements relating to areas such as zero waste, climate change, and green energy creation. It represents a large step forward in positioning the City of Ottawa a leader in Ontario in responsible waste management.

Increased Waste Diversion

Wallace said the primary focus of the West Carleton Environmental Centre is waste diversion. "Today, our region diverts less than 30 percent of waste away from disposal. We believe the West Carleton Environmental Centre will help to significantly increase the percentage of materials that are diverted for reuse and recycling."

This facility represents an entirely new approach to managing waste in our region. The facility will include a number of industrial, commercial and residential waste diversion operations that will maximize the value of the resources we receive. These include a materials recycling facility, a construction and demolition material facility, an organics processing facility, a residential diversion facility and an expanded drop-off facility for Habitat for Humanity to collect used building and renovation materials.

Community Development

The West Carleton Environmental Centre will create up to 75 green jobs in waste diversion, disposal and green energy facilities. Economic benefits will also extend to the larger community through community host agreements, as well as a revised Community Trust Fund to support local projects which could generate potentially more than $1 million in direct benefits annually for the City of Ottawa.

In addition, revenue opportunities will be created from waste diversion activities for local processors and downstream activities related to recycling and re-use. During the construction of the new operation, local suppliers and contractors will also benefit. There will be millions of dollars invested in the construction phase and our preference is to use local suppliers and contractors wherever possible.

Waste Management's current site has extensive non-operational lands, Wallace noted, "These could include allowing lands surrounding the facility for parks and recreational lands for community use and additional wildlife habitat lands. These could include sports fields, biking and hiking trails and a leash-free dog park." Waste Management will also expand existing wildlife habitat projects through collaborations with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. Waste Management also plans to expand its outdoor educational programs with local schools and service organizations.

A New, Environmentally Engineered Landfill

The West Carleton Environmental Centre will include a new, state-of-the-art, environmentally engineered landfill that will receive materials that cannot be diverted towards re-use, recovery or recycling.

The new landfill will be constructed on a new area on the current site, using the latest technology, best practices and processes to ensure the highest available standards of safety and efficiency. This will include a liner system, leachate collection and monitoring system to continuously protect ground and surface water. A gas collection system to capture the landfill gas will also be included. The new landfill will accept up to 400,000 tonnes of waste per year for 10 years. The new landfill will be lower in height than the current landfill and will have limited visual impact on surrounding areas and local residents.

The facility will also include a state-of-the-art landfill gas to energy facility that will collect landfill gas and convert it into green, renewable energy. The facility will be able to generate six megawatts of electricity, enough energy to power 6,000 homes for a year. Further, this same technology will be used at the old, closed landfill site to create enough energy to power a greenhouse that will be constructed for community use.

When the West Carleton Environmental Centre begins operations, the existing landfill will be closed, capped with natural grasses and monitored. The community will be consulted on possible future uses for the closed facility. "This is a news facility. When the West Carleton Environmental Centre begins operation, the existing landfill will be capped, closed and monitored," said Wallace.

Community Consultation

The views and opinions of our neighbours and the surrounding communities are important to us and will be included as part of the development of the proposed project," said Wallace. "We developed this new approach after listening to the feedback of community members, and we want to continue this dialogue."

The first step of the consultation process will be to develop a Terms of Reference. The Terms of Reference is essentially the work plan for what will be studied and how the company will consult with the community during the Environmental Assessment. Once approved by the Minister of Environment, the Terms of Reference provides the framework for conducting and evaluating the Environmental Assessment. The first round of public consultations being initiated relate to the Terms of Reference.

About Waste Management

Waste Management is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management and recycling services in North America. The company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. We are also the largest residential recycler and a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in North America. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.

Waste Management, from time to time, provides estimates of financial and other data, comments on expectations relating to future periods and makes statements of opinion, view or belief about current and future events. Statements relating to future events and performance are "forward-looking statements." The forward-looking statements that Waste Management makes are its expectations, opinion, view or belief at the point in time of issuance but may change at some future point in time. By issuing estimates or making statements based on current expectations, opinions, views or beliefs, Waste Management has no obligation, and is not undertaking any obligation, to update such estimates or statements or to provide any other information relating to such estimates or statements. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

For further information: Media: Ross Wallace, [phone], [email protected]