Sludge Watch ==> Toronto Sludge - Goodbye Michigan - Hello Quebec

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1154082909456&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_Ontario&call_pageid=968256289824&call_pagepath=News/Ontario


Toronto sludge: goodbye Michigan, hello Quebec
Jul. 28, 2006. 03:13 PM
CANADIAN PRESS


Canada’s largest city came one step closer today to solving the dilemma of 
what to do with its treated sewage sludge by signing a three-year, 
$13.5-million deal with a Quebec composting company.
Environmental Management Solutions Inc. will take 50,000 tonnes of the 
foul-smelling waste — about one-third of what Toronto generates annually — 
in the first year of the contract. It will take 35,000 tonnes in each of the 
following two years, with an option to extend the contract for another two 
years if the company sets up a composting facility in Ontario.

“That they’re able to help us out at this tonnage and for this long is 
great,” said Shelley Carrol, chair of the Toronto works committee.

Carrol said striking the deal is a major step in the city’s frantic quest to 
a place for the sludge before Aug. 1, the day a Michigan landfill stops 
accepting the city’s 160, 000 tonnes annually, or 14 trucks a day, of 
sludge.

It’s also a good move in the city’s master plan to divert all waste from 
Michigan by 2010, she added.

The contract with Environmental Management Solutions Inc. goes into effect 
at the beginning of August.

Most of the sludge generated by Toronto’s 2.6 million residents will be 
composted at facilities in Quebec, however some will find its way into 
landfills in New York State.

Republic Services, which owns the Detroit-area landfill Carleton Farms, said 
in May it will stop taking the sludge, leaving the city of Toronto 60 days 
to find new locations for the sticky, gooey substance.

Lawyers representing Toronto and Republic will be in court Wednesday arguing 
whether the landfill should help the city find a new site.

Carrol said the city will continue to pursue more options on this side of 
the border as they launch the legal action.

Negotiations are ongoing with the Green Lane landfill in London, Ont., to 
take some of the sludge. Terratec Environmental, which is under contract 
with the city to spread the treated sludge on agricultural fields, has been 
asked to aggressively pursue new sites.

“Staff have the directive and the authority to pursue every avenue to get us 
there, and this is one of them,” said Carrol.


...........................................................
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2006/07/28/sludge-deal.html



Quebec company to take one-third of city's sludge
Last Updated: Friday, July 28, 2006 | 4:05 PM ET
CBC News
Toronto has signed a deal for a Quebec-based company to take one-third of 
the city's treated sewage sludge over the next year, but is still scrambling 
to find a place for another 100,000 tonnes.

The announcement comes just days before a Michigan landfill site is 
scheduled to stop accepting Toronto's sludge.

In May, the Detroit-area landfill owned by Republic Services abruptly 
cancelled their agreement with Toronto, giving the city two month's notice 
until it would stop accepting the waste on Aug. 1.

Since then, the city has been trying to secure a deal with another company.

On Friday, the city announced a new deal with the Quebec-based composting 
company Environmental Management Solutions Inc. to take a portion of the 
sewage. It takes effect the same day the Michigan landfill stops taking the 
sludge.

Under the new agreement, about 50,000 tonnes of sludge will be sent to 
Quebec in the first year of the contract, and 35,000 tonnes in each of the 
following years.

'This is going to be a real challenge for us'

That has left the city struggling to fill the void.

Waste management officials spent the day negotiating with several companies, 
trying to secure someone to handle the remaining 100,000 tonnes of sludge.

"One carrier going to one place is what we budgeted for … so this is going 
to be a real challenge for us," said Shelley Carroll, who chairs the city's 
work committee.

Meanwhile, Toronto has launched a legal action against the Michigan landfill 
for breaking their contract, arguing the company should be responsible for 
helping the city find a new site for its sludge.

Both parties are expected in court next week.

Sludge, or bio-solids, is the solid waste that remains after raw sewage is 
treated and the purified water returned to the lake.