Ontario towns receive funding for waste management projects

Two Ontario municipalities are receiving funding to upgrade their waste management facilities.

The Town of Espanola and the City of Timmins are benefiting from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’s (FCM) Green Municipal Fund (GMF, which is making $1.4-million available to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in communities in Northern Ontario.

Espanola to improve digester

Espanola will receive $1,276,500 for its biosolids management and digester optimization project. This initiative will improve treated effluent and operational reliability and provide a model for managing existing biosolids for small communities across Canada.

The benefits of this project include reducing GHGs equivalent to 591 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next 20 years, lowering energy consumption by 40% and $100,000 annual savings in biosolid hauling and treatment costs for the municipality.

“The Town of Espanola is grateful to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund for supporting our innovative biosolids management and digester optimization project,” said Jill Beer
Espanola’s mayor. 

“Our partnered commitment to this project will significantly reduce environmental impact and will increase operational efficiencies and cost savings in pursuit of a sustainable quality of life for our community.”

Timmins will look at wastewater

Timmins will receive $86,500 to investigate opportunities to transform its wastewater pollution control plant into a net-zero resource recovery facility. It will explore source-separated organic availability and the most beneficial uses of increased biogas production.

“Any time we can talk about upgrading our current programs and services to a sustainable operation, it is positive news for the City,” said George Pirie
mayor of Timmins.

“Add to that the possibility of adding a composting program, and we’ll have a system in place that will greatly lower the City’s carbon footprint.”

These initiatives are some of the ways that GMF supports environmental initiatives at the community level. The Government of Canada has invested $1.65 billion in GMF since its inception, enabling municipalities to support projects like these that leverage local resources to drive innovative solutions.