Ground has been broken on a new $89.6 million composting facility expansion in Calgary’s southeast, increasing its capacity by 60 per cent.
Officials gathered May 27 at the Calgary Composting Facility site in southeast Calgary, next to the Shepard landfill, to break ceremonial ground for the expansion location. The original facility opened in 2017.
The addition, which will be a separate, enclosed facility, will process an additional 60,000 tonnes of food and yard waste in Calgary. The new building will have an anaerobic digestion system, which is newer technology that will allow the City of Calgary to process more material and capture the biogas.
The project is being funded by multiple sources, including through the City of Calgary’s Green Cart program, low-interest loans and grants obtained through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The expansion project had an initial budget of $50 million. Due to increased prices for commodities, labour issues and other inflationary pressures, city councillors agreed to a near doubling of the cost, with a $38.3 million capital cash injection during 2023 budget deliberations. The city also said at the time that the $50 million budget was a high level cost estimate and changed when a more detailed scope had been achieved.
“It’s imperative that we meet the growing demand for the yard waste,”
said Ward 12 Coun. Evan Spencer.
“When this project opened, it was very, very quickly at capacity just due to its popularity. So, this this expansion is vital for the future, the viability of the facility and the program in the city.”
Helping meet climate goals
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said this project continues to keep Calgary at the forefront of recycling and also the technology used to compost.
“As we enhance our waste management capabilities and integrate cutting-edge technologies, we’re propelling Calgary towards a greener future and reinforcing our role as a leader in innovation,” she said.
The new processing facility was the result of a substantial uptake in Calgary’s Green Cart program, according to Tanner Fellinger, Manager of Process Infrastructure Delivery – Utilities Delivery with the City of Calgary. The expansion should continue to meet Calgary’s processing needs for the next several years.
“That’s kind of dependent on the rapid growth of Calgary which we’re already experiencing,” he said.
“Operationally, we will be monitoring that and seeing how long that takes us, but it’s meant to take us into the next several years.”
Fellinger said moving ahead on the project construction was a major milestone for the facility.
“This expansion project is a testament to the city of Calgary’s unwavering commitment to fostering a greener and more sustainable future for all of its residents,” he said.
The new anaerobic process, along with the fact it’s enclosed, should help the odour issue at the site. It’s long been an issue for area residents, and the expanded capacity is expected to provide “operational flexibility” that will expedite the processing of material; therefore it won’t sit for a longer duration, adding to the stink.
Craig More, program manager, organics, with the City of Calgary, said the expansion will give them the flexibility to examine ongoing process improvements at the site to limit things like the odour.
“The expansion certainly will not make any further odours or make any odors worse from this facility,” he said.
“The new process is going to be totally enclosed. So, all that air is going to be captured and treated and then it will be turned into renewable natural gas.”
Construction is underway and is planned to be complete by late 2025.
