With the City of Toronto working to finalize a 25-year master plan for managing biosolids, there may be work at the end of the tunnel. Don’t expect construction to begin anytime soon. The city has spent the better part of the last six years reviewing plans for biosolids generated from processing raw sewage at its wastewater treatment plants. Biosolids are the solid organic matter left over after wastewater is digested, or processed, at the city’s Ashbridges Bay, Highland Creek, Humber and North Toronto wastewater treatment plants. After processing, the city generates more than 65,000 dry tonnes of biosolids annually.Toronto Water general manager Lou Di Gironimo says the city wants to manage these nutrient-rich biosolids in a beneficial way. This could include processing them for re-use as a soil conditioner on agricultural fields, or in pellet form as a supplement to fertilizers. The city launched its review in 2003, completing a draft plan a year later.
Then, with fresh findings from a second review in 2008, the city held public consultations in February and September. Staff are now finalizing a plan that is expected to go to city council before year’s end. Di Gironimo says Toronto isn’t yet closing the door on any options, including landfilling and incineration. It already maintains a small multiple hearth incinerator at its Highland Creek site, and it also manages some biosolids through disposal at the Green Lane landfill. The city needs to decide if it will make further capital investments for processing and if it will continue to use private suppliers for services, Di Gironimo explains. “It’s too early to speculate on what we’ll construct until we finish the process.”
Di Gironimo concedes there’s public opposition to incineration. “That’s why we’re doing the master plan. We’re soliciting information from the public...and then we’ll table it back for Council to consider.” No matter what options Council chooses, the city will need environmental certificates of approval and other permits. Di Gironimo hesitates to offer any possible time-line for construction of approved projects, because the city has guidelines and public procedures it must follow. Work could work begin next year but a half a decade is more reasonable, he adds.
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