City of Regina seeks innovative vendor to build organic waste processing facility – Regina Leader Post

The design of a facility to process organic waste collected by the city is being left up to the innovation of experts as Regina seeks a vendor to help turn one person’s trash into another person’s treasure.
The design of a facility to process organic waste collected by the city is being left up to the innovation of experts as Regina seeks a vendor to help turn one person’s trash into another person’s treasure.

“It could be compost. It could be fertilizer. It could be biogas. We don’t know the full scale of what will be built until we review those proposals from the industry,” Kurtis Doney, director of water, waste and environment for the City of Regina, said in an interview Monday.

The city issued a request for proposals (RFP) on April 8 looking for a vendor to manage, own and operate an organic waste processing facility, including the design and construction of the project.

Doney said the process is meant to “drive innovation” and ensure the city gets the best value for residents as it expands the food and yard waste program piloted in 2020 to a city-wide program starting in late 2023.

He said if the new facility uses the waste for compost, the site would likely have multiple compost “bunkers” with cement blocks around the outside to store and then cycle the waste into compost. An indoor processing facility to collect biogas would have a smaller footprint he added, but depending on the chosen design, the facility could use a combination of different approaches.

Biogas is produced when organic materials are broken down by bacteria in an oxygen-free environment. It contains both energy in the form of gas and soil products in the form of liquids and solids.

The RFP closes on June 7 and the city hopes to have a contract in place in mid to late summer. The successful proponents will also be required to produce, test, market and sell the products processed at the facility, the location of which will be determined through the RFP process as well. Doney said it could be near the landfill or elsewhere in or around the city depending on what vendors propose, but that the city wants to make sure it’s within a reasonable distance.

“We’re really excited to continue the planning for the food and yard waste program,” Doney said. “And we’re excited to bring the green cart program to Regina residents.”

Regina city council approved the city-wide expansion of the program in November of last year, something the city has been working toward since 2018.

It will allow residents to collect food and yard waste material using a 240-litre green cart which will be picked up weekly between April and October and bi-weekly between November and March. It will also allow residents to use compostable bags.

Through the pilot, the city saw the landfill diversion rate go from 20 per cent to just over 50 per cent resulting in a decision to switch to bi-weekly garbage pick up year-round once the compost program is in place. This reduction in garbage pick up will help offset costs for organics pick up, administration said. Some of the compost from the pilot was distributed  to residents last May. The city plans to do a similar compost giveaway this May.

The city-wide program is expected to divert up to 24,000 tonnes of waste from the landfill per year and cost $7.5 million per year to operate. More information can be found at www.regina.ca.

jackerman@postmedia.com

Want to know how we decide what to cover and how editorial decisions are made at the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix? Get the weekly Letter From the Editor newsletter from the Editor in Chief Russell Wangersky and join the discussion on what goes into covering news and delivering commentary, both in print and online. Click here to subscribe.

Sign up to receive daily headline news from Regina Leader-Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Regina Leader Post Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4
© 2022 Regina Leader Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.
This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

source