Esquimalt Council Approves Second Phase Funding for IRM Study
On November 16th, Esquimalt Council approved funding for the second phase detailed feasibility study for an Integrated Resource Management system that would utilize the construction of a gasifier to deal with the municipality’s waste.
Council heard from Mount Work Coalition (MWC) members including Elaine Klimke, Daniel Kenway and Hugh Stephens. MWC was pleased to have the support of other community partners at the meeting who spoke on behalf of the South Island Climate Action Network, Creatively United for the Planet and the Esquimalt ECO Team. Speakers voiced their support for Esquimalt’s plans for an Integrated Resource Management system that uses new alternative waste technology to reduce waste flow to the Hartland landfill.
Currently, the CRD is poised to destroy 73 acres of one of the last remaining stands of Douglas fir in our region, in order to expand the Hartland dump even though alternative solutions exist, such as the Township of Esquimalt's IRM proposal that would utilize a gasifier to reduce municipal waste.
MWC would like to thank Jane Devonshire, Marjorie Sandercock, Francois Brassard, Jonathan O’Riordan and Frances Litman who helped us collectively organize a delegation of speakers ahead of the November 16th meeting. Thank you to everyone who lent their support to our combined effort to halt the continued and unnecessary expansion of the Hartland landfill.
If you are interested in hearing their comments, you can listen to the livestream of the council meeting. We also encourage you to read more about IRM through the Esquimalt IRM Technical report prepared by Pivotal IRM which provides further background on the proposed gasification technology including the information and summary below.
What is IRM?
Integrated Resource Management or IRM is an approach to managing water, energy and waste that aims to maximize their use and value as resources, in ways that reduce costs to taxpayers and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and pollution. What is gasification or waste-to-energy technology? Gasification is an alternative waste management practice from the present reliance on landfills that rely on decomposition or anaerobic digestion which continues to produce unacceptably high levels of methane.
Gasification is a chemical and physical process where the feedstock (waste) is heated in a controlled chamber with minimal oxygen to produce a synthesis gas (" syngas"), which can be used to generate heating, cooling and power. Feedstocks need to be carbonic in nature to produce energy making them suitable for a range of wastes.
Approximately 75% of CRD waste flow is suitable for gasification. Residuals are primarily biochar and fly ash, which are usable and capable of being marketed for sale.
Gasification and recycling combined, should be able to treat the entire municipal waste load, when combined with Blue Box recycling and Extended Producer Responsibility programs for paints and other household hazardous materials.
