The federal government is providing $6 million in funding to the City of Peterborough to build a composting facility in Peterborough and to implement a city-wide curbside organics collection program.
Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef made the announcement on Tuesday (February 11) on behalf of Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson during an event held at Beavermead Park in Peterborough.
The $6 million in funding will support the development of a centralized composting centre for food and waste that will prevent around 32,000 tonnes of organic debris from entering the landfill each year.
The funding will also support the city-wide expansion of the City of Peterborough’s pilot “Green Bin” curbside organics collection program.
“Peterborough has been piloting a composting program for years,” Monsef said. “Our government sees Peterborough as a leader in environmentalism and climate action. Today’s investment of up to $6 million to expand Peterborough’s composting program is a vote of confidence in our community.”
The funding comes from the partnerships stream of the Government of Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Challenge, which invests in projects that reduce carbon pollution, save money, and create jobs.
The City of Peterborough was originally going to receive $7.4 million from the Ontario government to help pay for a composting facility but, after that funding fell through in 2019 following the change in provincial government, the city applied to the federal government’s Low Carbon Economy Challenge for funding.
Under that program, municipalities can receive up to 40 per cent of the project cost in federal funding. The total cost of the Peterborough organics project is expected to be $15.3 million.
“We are excited about a city-wide organic waste collection and composting program,” said Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien. “It will reduce both greenhouse gas emissions as well as our reliance on landfill. In addition, it will create composted material that will benefit our environment. It’s a service that our residents have long been asking for that we’re pleased to be able to deliver with support from the federal government’s Low Carbon Economy Fund.”
In September 2019, city staff stated that, should federal funding be approved, household organics collection and processing would begin in September 2023.
It is estimated the City of Peterborough’s climate change initiative is equivalent to removing 25,000 cars from the road for one year.
