Private landfill wants to accept Ottawa's household garbage

A private landfill wants to take the City of Ottawa's household garbage, as the city continues to explore future options for its trash as the Trail Road Landfill fills up.

The owners of planned Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre in Ottawa's east end have applied to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks for permission to accept residential waste at its landfill at the intersection of Highway 417 and Boundary Road. Officials say the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre remains in the design phase and is not open yet.

The landfill is a joint venture of Taggart Investments Inc. and Miller Waste Systems and is currently an approved greenfield waste management facility for recycling and disposal of residual commercial and industrial waste.

"The CRRRC aims to be a key player in sustainable waste management in Eastern Ontario, offering one of the only integrated waste management facilities in the country," the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre said in a statement.

"In seeking this approval, the CRRRC will be better positioned to be part of the solution for the City of Ottawa’s current and developing waste management challenges."

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Officials say no changes would be required to the approved design of the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre, and there would be no changes to the "daily, annual or total waste limits" that are part of the existing approvals.

The Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre is located on 184 hectares of property east of Boundary Road and southeast of the Highway 417/Boundary Road interchange.  According to the notice of approval issued in May 2017, the residual waste disposal facility has capacity for up to 10.7 million cubic metres, and is approved to receive 450,000 tonnes of waste per year.

The Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre has approval for a materials recovery facility for commercial waste; construction and demolition waste processing; hydrocarbon contaminated soil treatment, surplus soil manage, a drop off for separate materials and leaf and yard waste compost. It also includes a landfill for non-recyclable waste.

The Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre is located at the intersection of Highway 417 and Boundary Road. The area includes the Greyhawk Golf Club and an Amazon Fulfilment Centre. (Google Maps)

The city of Ottawa's only municipally run landfill is the Trail Road Waste Facility on Trail Road, which is expected to run out of space in the next 13 to 15 years.

Staff are currently exploring options to deal with Ottawa's trash in the future, with either a new landfill or alternate technology, such as an incinerator. Three technological alternatives are being studied, including waste-to-energy incineration, mixed waste processing and anaerobic digestion.

Staff have said a waste-to-energy incinerator has the potential to reduce the amount of waste going to a landfill by 73 per cent.

Last fall, council approved a plan to send 60,000 tonnes of residential garbage a year to two private landfills, helping to extend the life of the rapidly filling up Trail Road dump. The trash will be sent to Waste Management's West Carleton Environmental Centre on Carp Road and the GFL's Transfer Station on Corduroy Road in conjunction with the Moose Creek Landfill.

Ottawa is also introducing a three-garbage bin limit for households every two weeks to help reduce waste.

In a memo to council Thursday morning, Public Works general manager Alain Gonthier says the city is aware of the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre's request to accept residential waste.

"While this is a private facility with no involvement with the City from a waste perspective, staff want to ensure Members of Council are aware of pending changes as this facility is located within the limits of the City of Ottawa," Gonthier said.

Gonthier says the project team told the City of Ottawa the proposal to accept residential waste is considered a "technical amendment to their current approval," and no changes are required to the approved design or environmental monitoring program.

Gonthier did not address the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre's statement that it could be "part of the solution" for the city's current and developing waste management challenges."

The owners of the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre believe they can help the city with its garbage needs in the future.

"This strategic move comes at a crucial time when municipalities, including Ottawa, are grappling with the challenges of increasing waste volumes and limited waste disposal options," Denis Goulet, vice-chair of Miller Waste Systems, said in a statement.

"We believe that adding residential waste to the approved waste categories for the CRRRC can play an important role in helping to meet these challenges."

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Ted Raymond