Sylvan Lake town council has agreed to pay a minimum of $30,000 a month to a company working to divert garbage from the landfill.
Previously, the agreement between the town and Fogdog Energy provided no certainty to the company, which hopes to make the municipality greener.
The company uses a waste converter to transform municipal solid waste into a material it calls “fluff,” which is sold as an energy source that burns cleaner than coal.
According to a report presented to council by chief administrative officer Wally Ferris, the change to the agreement will have minimal impact on the town.
The fee of $100 per tonne of waste remains the same. The change simply means Sylvan Lake will have to provide at least 300 tonnes of waste each month to avoid extra costs.
Currently, Sylvan Lake generates about 5,800 tonnes of garbage each year, with an average of about 485 tonnes each month.
According to the town, in 2018, the least amount of waste collected in a month was 304 tonnes, during the shortest month of the year, February.
“No single month in 2018 was below 300 tonnes of waste (generated), however, any future month(s) with fewer than 300 tonnes of waste would result in the town paying the minimum amount of $30,000,” the report states.
Said Ferris: “I don’t believe the town will fall below the 300 tonnes required monthly. With the town expected to continue to grow, our monthly average will only grow as well.”
Fogdog Energy is working to gain approval from Alberta Environment and Parks with the intention of opening its facility by the end of 2020.
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