Organic waste management options in the RCM of Pontiac

The Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Pontiac will conduct a feasibility study with the main objective of identifying the most appropriate organic waste management solution for its specific needs (i.e. collection, transportation and processing). The implementation of this management system will enable the RCM to divert organic matter from the landfill. The organics included in the study are green waste and food waste from the municipal sector and the industrial-commercial-institutional (ICI) sector. The feasibility study will identify the specific needs of each municipality according to its characteristics (i.e. population, density, rural character, etc.); describe which organics are already being processed (i.e. green, food and garden waste); and estimate the recoverable quantities by municipality based on the various processing methods being examined (i.e. domestic, community or centralized composting). In addition, the study will propose various management options by municipality or by group of similar municipalities. These options will include collection method (e.g., door-to-door or voluntary drop-off) and processing method. A comparison will be made using a multi-criteria grid to make recommendations for the most appropriate collection and processing solutions for the member municipalities of the RCM of Pontiac, as well as to identify the next steps that will lead to these recommendations being implemented. Innovative aspect(s): In the context of the RCM of Pontiac, the proposed study represents a progressive approach. Replicability: The possibility of sharing the knowledge obtained from the results of this study is good at the regional level, particularly with neighbouring RCMs so as to interest them in taking part in a joint project, and it will enable other communities to adapt the results to their own specific context. (Project description from original funding application)