Kitchen waste recycling tossed out

Yard waste composting moving to Bensfort Rd. landfill; no funding to recycle kitchen waste

It’s not looking as though Peterborough will get a kitchen waste composting facility in 2020, now that the provincial government is not offering the city a grant of

$7.4 million toward the $15-million project after all.

The provincial grant – promised under the former Liberal government, from cap-and-trade money – is no longer coming, and the private partner that was going to help the city has withdrawn.

Triland Excavation and Haulage of Keene was going to be the city’s partner in the project.

The firm was going to build and operate a compost processing plant at the city-county Bensfort Landfill site, while the city was planning to do the curbside collection of organics.

But now the firm isn’t interested anymore.

A new city staff report says it leaves the city without the money to create the new facility, which was planned for the Bensfort Landfill site.

The new facility was expected open by 2020 (whereupon curbside collection of kitchen organic waste was expected to begin).

Currently there’s no pickup of organic waste in Peterborough for lack of a local facility.

The city now composts at a municipally owned property on Harper Rd.

Council’s plan had been to continue composting yard waste on Harper Rd. until the new composting facility was to be ready in 2020.

But on Monday, councillors voted without discussion to move the yard waste composting facility from Harper Rd. to the Bensfort landfill site and see whether there may someday be a way to upgrade that site so it will compost kitchen waste as well.

Also on councillors’ general committee agenda on Monday:

Heritage registry

Councillors voted on Monday to place 50 properties – including the General Electric plant – on a list of properties of heritage interest.

It’s not the same as a heritage designation: owners of properties on the registry can still apply for a demolition permit, but they’d have to wait 60 days before one could be granted.

Pioneer Road wideing

Councillors voted to acquire lands along Pioneer Rd. from Trent University so it can widen the road for both the new arena and the planned industrial park (Cleantech Commons).

The purchase price will be nothing; the city is on the hook only for costs such as land transfer taxes and HST.

Coun. Diane Therrien asked whether the city will be clearcutting the land, and if so whether there’s a plan to consult Trent University, neighbors and Indigenous communities about that.

Wayne Jackson, the city’s commissioner of infrastructure, said trails and sidewalks are already under construction – so any vegetation there is already gone.

“We’ve had those discussions,” he told Therrien.