Regional Council has awarded RFP 19-060, which will see the establishment of a new composting facility to replace the two existing composting facilities. The new facility will be located in Goodwood, on the site of the current Ragged Lake Composting Facility.
Since 2014, the municipality has been working towards developing a new organics management facility to process residential green cart materials and commercial organics. As part of the planning steps, the condition of the existing two composting facilities was assessed, a business case for a new facility was developed, and comprehensive public engagement was completed with the findings incorporated into the requirements for the development of a new facility.
On April 25, 2017, Regional Council approved an Organics Management Strategy and directed staff to initiate a two-stage procurement process.
The approved proponent, Harbour City Resources (HCR) has designed, built, and currently operates composting facilities in Hamilton (2006), Guelph (2011), and Calgary (2017). HCR’s design for the Halifax composting facility builds on an already established technology and design. Modern features for the proposed facility include:
• Compost Quality – the compost being produced at the new facility will meet the 2010 NS Environment Composting Facility Guidelines.
• Odour Control – the proposed facility design incorporates significant measures to mitigate odours, including the use of air lock doors which means that odours from the facility cannot escape to the surrounding community.
• Energy Efficiency – the proposed facility includes LED lighting and will take advantage of the heat generated from the compost process, and rooftop rainwater collection.
• Water Negative Process – Unlike the existing composting facilities, this proposed facility is water negative and won’t produce a leachate that will need to be treated off-site.
• New Use of By-products – Ammonium sulphate, generated from the odour control system, can be marketed as a fertilizer product for the agriculture industry.
Final contract negotiations and execution are anticipated to be completed in early 2021. The new facility will replace the two existing aging facilities and will support the continued success of the municipal green cart program. Organics will continue to be processed at the two existing facilities until the new facility is complete. The existing facilities are the Ragged Lake Facility located at 61 Evergreen Place in Goodwood; and the Dartmouth Facility located at 80 Gloria McCluskey Avenue in Burnside.
The new facility is anticipated to begin construction in 2021 and will take approximately two to three years to complete. There will be no disruptions to the green cart program for residents during this transition project.
For more details on this project, read the staff report.