P.A.'s landfill is near capacity and a new cell will cost $3.5 million (file photo/paNOW staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

The cost of trash

P.A. ponders new solutions to deal with waste

Sep 10, 2019 | 8:15 AM

Prince Albert is searching for new solutions to deal with its garbage.

City council has asked staff to prepare two reports: one on the feasibility of incinerating waste, and another on the possibility of buying a machine to convert plastics into diesel fuel. The city wants both reports ready in time for budget meetings in November.

“I think it’s an opportunity that we have to try and get away from building new cells consistently and constantly,” councillor Don Cody told paNOW after Monday evening’s meeting. “They’re getting higher in price all the time.”

Prince Albert is on track to have to construct a new $3.5 million landfill cell within the next two years, as the current capacity of the landfill is quickly becoming exhausted.

The coming report will detail whether a city of Prince Albert’s size has the population to sustain a garbage incinerator, although councillors suggested working together with nearby municipalities could make the operation more cost-effective.

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Cody also responded to concerns about the fumes emitted by incinerating trash.

“There are toxins that come off, there are dioxins that come off, there’s no doubt about that, but there are scrubbers today that you can get that pretty much cleans all of that up prior to it getting into the atmosphere,” he said.

Purchasing a machine to convert plastics into diesel fuel will also be studied.

“What it basically boils down to is we’re filling our landfills with plastic,” councillor Blake Edwards told council. “Statistics say that we recycle less than five per cent of the plastics.”

The diesel fuel created could be sold by the city for revenue.

Councillors were especially interested in exploring this option given the current glut of recyclables on the market. Cody explained that although the city collects and processes plastic bags and clam shell packaging, most of these low-quality plastics end up in a landfill anyway because there is simply no one willing to buy them.

alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom