Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I want to salute the City of Yellowknife and Ecology North as the co-winners of the 2013 Federation of Canadian Municipalities Sustainable Communities Award in the waste category. The award recognizes the impressive achievement of piloting and then implementing the first phase of an organic waste composting project.
From 2009 to 2012, the city partnered with Ecology North on a centralizing composting pilot project to learn about and test the process and to evaluate the feasibility of a full-scale operation. The three-year project looked to composting in cold climates and whether the city could do more in this area.
Twenty businesses and institutions participated, including two multi-family buildings, restaurants, grocery stores, the correctional facility, schools and the hospital. Seven hundred sixty-five tonnes of organics were collected, about 9 percent of Yellowknife’s organic waste stream. After two summers of processing at the landfill site, two batches of Yellowknife Black Gold Compost passed laboratory tests as high-quality Category A compost which can be used for any application, including for residential gardens, landscaping or agriculture.
The first sale of Yellowknife Black Gold Compost occurred in September 2012. Organics and diversions saved 960 cubic metres of landfill space, avoided about 870 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, saved $144,000 in landfill space and generated $7,000 in revenue.
Throughout these efforts a vigorous program of public education and involvement has promoted the benefits of reducing the environmental and budget costs of waste. It’s working, because people, businesses and institutions got on board. As a result, this year the city will begin construction of a full composting facility, expand commercial and institution organics collection and plan for residential curbside collection.
The Canadian Association of Municipalities and the Federation of Municipalities have recognized the success with their prestigious national award. Special recognition goes to the City of Yellowknife’s public works director Denis Kefalas, solid waste facility supervisor Carl Grabke, and Ecology North’s program coordinators Shannon Ripley, Dawn Tremblay, and assistant director Kim Rapati. I invite this House to add its congratulations to that success. Mahsi.