The city of Ottawa has voted to move ahead with a 20-year deal with Plasco Energy Group to turn the city's waste into energy.
The vote at city council Wednesday morning was almost unanimous. The deal—worth $180 million—passed with a tally of 22 votes in favour of the plan, with only one dissenting vote from Coun. Diane Holmes.
"It has never been proven to work for municipal waste right off the back of a garbage truck," said Holmes.
The deal means Plasco will process up to 300 tonnes of residential garbage a day. The company uses a plasma gasification process to turn trash into energy.
It means less garbage will go into the Trail Road landfill, extending the landfill's lifespan.
"It's not perfect," said Coun. Maria McRae. "But if we wait for perfection…we'll be waiting as long as it takes for a piece of plastic to degrade in a landfill."
If the deal doesn't work out well, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said the city isn't taking a big risk.
"If the technology doesn't work in a commercially-run venture…it's not the taxpayers problem."
Plasco hopes to open its permanent plant on Moodie Drive in 2016.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's John Hua
