The Organics Processing Facility will receive and process all green cart materials collected from both the residential and commercial organics collection programs. (Photo: LNN)

By Christian Oldale

Lethbridge unveils new Organics Processing Facility

May 10, 2023 | 4:13 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The City of Lethbridge opened its new Organics Processing Facility for business on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, and held a tour of the building.

The facility is located at the Waste & Recycling Centre, and staff will receive and process all green cart materials collected from both the residential and commercial collection programs.

READ MORE: City of Lethbridge begins phase two of green cart rollout

Lethbridge mayor Blaine Hyggen was in attendance for Wednesday’s facility tour.

He said, “It’s important as council [that] we decided to move forward with this, and you know what? Maybe not everyone was in favour, but it was a council decision to move forward. As we’ve seen on our tour today, they’ve done an amazing job.”

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Following the tour, Hyggen was invited to turn on one of the machines, signaling the official opening and beginning of operations at the facility.

According to Joel Sanchez, Director of Infrastructure Services, construction began on the facility in January 2022, after the curbside organics program was approved by Lethbridge City Council before being opened on Wednesday.

Sanchez said, “We look forward to being able to divert much more waste from the landfill and reaching our waste diversion targets to continue to advance the sustainability of our community for years to come.”

Costs of constructing and operating the facility were split among different areas. The Government of Canada contributed $5,879,000 from the Canada Community-Building Fund for the facility’s construction, while the province kicked in $4,750,000 from the Municipal Sustainability Initiative to support the curbside organics program.

When the trucks collect the organic material, they bring it to the facility where it is mixed, shredded up and then sits in open air bunkers. It then takes around 44 days for the material to turn into compost, where it is then sold off from the facility. City compost will also be used in parks and gardens and sold to partners in the agricultural industry.

The project and the City’s project consultant, Tetra Tech, were recently awarded the Consulting Engineers of Alberta’s Environmental Award of Excellence, and Sustainable Design Award of Excellence.

Processing Manager with the City’s Waste and Environment department, Steve Rozee said the facility meets and even exceeds the standards set by large ones in Calgary and other areas.

He added, “We have some extra [additions] that not every facility has that allow us to provide a more rounded suite of services. This is a very modern, high-tech, well-designed facility and we’re going to use it to its maximum potential.”

The facility is expected to generate 13,000 tonnes of compost per year. Residents will be able to pick up the compost at multiple upcoming events throughout the year, including three in June.

The first city-wide collection of green carts starts next week on Tuesday, May 16, and carts are expected to be fully delivered to residential areas by Friday, May 12.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now