Regina’s temporary composting site can run for up to a year

As the search for a new location for Regina’s composting facility goes on, composting is continuing to be done at the city’s landfill.

The city’s contractor, EverGen, had its application to build a site near Pilot Butte in the RM of Edenwold shut down earlier in December. As that process played out, the decision was made to open a temporary site at the landfill.

Members of the media were invited for a tour of that site on Thursday.

During the event, Janet Aird, acting director of water, waste and environment for the City of Regina, said the site has processed 4,500 tonnes of composted waste since the fall.

Mateo Ocejo, director of organics with EverGen, said multiple potential sites are being looked at, but nothing has been chosen yet.

“We’re working closely with the city to find something that is both going to meet our needs as a processor, and also make sure that the city’s needs are met and it’s within the 15 kilometres from the centre of the city,” he said.

EverGen’s Mateo Ocejo stands on top of the Goretex-covered compost at Regina’s landfill on Dec. 21, 2023. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

Ocejo also said the site saves the city money by being able to recycle material instead of putting it in a landfill.

Aird said finding a location within the next year would go a long way toward helping the city achieve its target of diverting 65 per cent of residential waste from the landfill.

“The expectation is this is going to divert anywhere between 24 and 34 per cent depending on participation from the public,” she said.

“We’ve also rolled it out to the industrial, commercial and institutional sector. (They’re) required to have (separated waste) as part of their waste management programs by Jan. 1, 2026, so having a facility that can take that material is important for the city and surrounding community.”

Ocejo said he’s confident that a permanent site will be found by the end of 2024.

“I would hope that we’ll be out of this site within less than one year from when we started,” Ocejo said.

He added there is a concern about running out of space after a year.

“We have a limited footprint up here. We don’t have the utilities, we don’t have the building (and) it’s harder for our staff to operate,” he said.

“We can do it for a year, but eventually we’re going to need more infrastructure and so we are actively working towards getting a permanent location for the facility.”

Waste material being dumped during a tour at Regina’s landfill on Dec. 21, 2023. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

Ocejo mentioned that EverGen is dealing with a few extra costs that it wouldn’t have had to deal with had the site in Edenwold been approved.

Those costs come from things like trucking water in and running everything off of generator power instead of having the proposed site’s three-phased power that ran right to the property line.

“But the nice thing about this technology is it’s very versatile, it’s flexible and we’re having no problem meeting temperatures or following the regulations as far as making Class A compost from this temporary location,” Ocejo said.

The site didn’t emit a strong odour, something Ocejo emphasized repeatedly. Some residents of the RM of Edenwold had mentioned odour as a cause of concern for the proposed site.

“We’re standing right now downwind of the first phase of the process, which is where it should be the worst smell,” he said.

“We’re five feet away from it and you know, I’m not going to say there’s no odour, but it’s not the kind of odour that anybody would ever complain about.”

Compost found at the temporary site at Regina’s landfill. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

What not to recycle 

Ocejo showed examples of materials that shouldn’t be put in green bins. He demonstrated materials that had found their way to the composting site such as:

• Electronics
• Bottles
• Non-compostable plastic
• Clothing
• Glass
• Styrofoam
• Pill bottles

“We do as much as we can manually by removing the garbage by hand before we shred it and then we shred the material and also remove additional garbage by hand after it has been shredded,” he said.

Members of the media were invited to a tour of Regina’s temporary composting facility on Dec. 21, 2023. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)