Staff at the City of Ottawa are working on a fast-tracked feasibility study for an incinerator, set to return to council by mid-2025.
“No matter what, we’re going to be generating waste, and as Ottawa continues to grow we need to make sure we have a means to deal with that,” said Hoover-Bienasz.
There is also no getting around emissions, she said. Landfills create their own greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane.
Building an incinerator similar to the facility in Clarington would cost $450 to $500 million, according to the city’s estimates, with annual operating costs of an additional $25 million.
The city recently accelerated the study on the environmental impacts of an incinerator back in December as the landfill is set to fill (approx. 10 years) by the time an incinerator gets up and running.