Integrated biomethanization and composting facility for treating organic waste (Montreal South Shore’s East Sector mixed enterprise company)

To reclaim 70% of biodegradable organic waste from the three RCMs, the Société d’Économie Mixte de l’Est de la Couronne Sud (SÉMECS) is planning to build a biomethanization facility combined with a composting site. The plant will serve clientele from the 27 municipalities on Montreal’s South Shore, i.e., about 221,331 residents over 1,456 km². Owing to a standardized municipal by-laws requiring that the industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) sectors have their organic waste processed at the treatment centre, it will be possible to divert a total of 60,000 tonnes/year of organic waste from landfill, including a total of 35,543 tonnes of residential organic waste. A landfill diversion rate of 59.86% will be achieved, an increase of 30% in relation to the current situation. In addition, the project includes decreasing energy consumption at the facilities. Biogas will be used to replace natural gas at the GreenField Ethanol plant. The use of biogas at this plant will in the long run reduce natural gas consumption by 20%, or by 200,000 GJ/year. Residual thermal energy at the biomethanization facility will be used to preheat organic waste, thereby reducing the facilities energy consumption. An estimated 10,000 GJ will be recovered. The project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions overall by about 11,924 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year. Included among the project’s other environmental, social and economic benefits are: • Decrease in fuel consumption of 140,000 litres/year by decreasing the distances involved in transporting the organic waste for treatment; • Marketing of biomethane as a fossil fuel replacement making the region less dependent on imported oil; • Access to high quality organic fertilizer for local farmers thereby reducing their reliance on chemical and synthetic fertilizers and sustaining the soil’s organic content over the long term; • Using treated process water to reduce water consumption at the distillery by 100 cubic metres daily; • Stimulation of local economy; and • Increase in job opportunities. The RCM will put bylaws and communications and recognition tools in place to encourage ICIs to participate, along with permanent communications tools to engage local residents. An interpretation centre will be set up to inform the public about the integrated management of residual organic waste. Tours of the facilities and collaboration with the University of Sherbrooke's research chair on renewable fuels will contribute to sharing the knowledge acquired through this project and help other regions replicate a biomethanization project. In addition, having the biomethanization plant and the biorefinery located in the Varennes industrial park will enhance the project’s visibility given its proximity to the world class renewable fuel excellence centre. Securing the supply of waste materials required to ensure the reliability of such a project, having biogas purchased by an industrial partner and supplying local farmers with digestate are all aligned with provincial and municipal government sustainable development strategies and policies. (Project description from original funding application)