CORNWALL, Ontario – The City of Cornwall will be holding a virtual chat on Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. to discuss organic waste collection.
The goal of an organic waste collection initiative would not only be to harness organic waste as a resource, but also to divert it from the city’s landfill, thereby extending its life.
At the beginning of 2020, Cornwall City Council received a presentation detailing that there were only about 12 years left in the current landfill’s life cycle, and that the cost to close and maintain the site alone would be roughly $38 million, and that is without even considering the expense of opening a new landfill.
READ MORE: City facing steep costs for landfill closure
“Over the past few months, the City of Cornwall has been working with consultants to come up with the best solution to manage our community’s residential organic waste.This type of waste is biodegradable (it can be broken down). It includes items like waste food, food scraps, greasy pizza boxes, and houseplant clippings,” reads a statement from the City of Cornwall. “Our hope is to separate kitchen waste from the rest of your garbage. By collecting organic waste and bringing it to a processing facility, we can turn these materials into a valuable, nutrient-rich resource or a source of renewable energy. The project team, made up of City staff and consultants from OCWA and Tetra Tech, is looking at different ways to divert organic residential waste from the landfill. It all starts with you and your household.”
The City highlighted the following benefits to organic waste collection:
- Recover this valuable resource,
- Extend the life of our landfill, and
- Be part of a global movement to meet the United Nations Sustainability Goals.
The City states that a citizen’s panel has been collecting public input about organic waste collection and will be presenting its findings at the Jan. 7 virtual meeting.
Those wishing to take part in the virtual meeting are asked to email organics@cornwall.ca
The meeting will be live streamed on Facebook and broadcast on Cogeco channel 11.
