City to resume scaled-back operations at the Central Composting Facility

HAMILTON, ON – Beginning February 4, 2019, the City of Hamilton will resume scaled-back operations at the Central Composting Facility (CCF). The facility was temporarily shut down on June 24, 2018 in response to odour complaints in the surrounding neighbourhoods. 

Last summer, the CCF was running at peak capacity while processing source separated organics, equivalent to approximately 60,000 tonnes per year. Once it begins operations again next week, the annual tonnes per year will be reduced to 20,000. Following the installation of recommended capital upgrades, the CCF will be able to operate at an annual processing capacity of 40,000 tonnes.  In order to resume composting at the CCF, the City has made several operational and procedural improvements. These include: 

• Reducing the process capacity to one third of the original design
• Accepting and processing only material from the City of Hamilton and not from other municipalities
• Eliminating the use of the curing building and curing compost either in the main processing building or offsite at a third-party processor
• Temporarily banning grass and leaf and yard waste from the Green Bin program
• Additional operational performance monitoring including implementation of additional key performance indicators for the air quality control system
• Hiring a third-party company to patrol the surrounding neighbourhoods for air quality impacts

As a reminder, beginning April 1, 2019 grass and leaf and yard waste will no longer be accepted in the Green Bin and must be put at the curb using a paper yard waste bag or other clearly marked open-top reusable rigid container (i.e. bins, baskets or garbage can without a lid). This ban is to help avoid the introduction of ammonia, a potential contributor to air quality, at the CCF. 

In order operate at a capacity greater than 20,000 tonnes per year, the CCF requires additional capital upgrades. The City’s recommended plans for these upgrades were submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) through an Environmental Compliance Approval amending document. Pending review and approval by the MECP, the following upgrades will be made to the CCF:

• Installation of an acid scrubber to assist in the removal of ammonia generated by the composting process
• Extension of the bio-filter exhaust stack from 30 metres to 50 metres 
• Installation of a carbon filtration system to assist with the treatment of odours 

The City encourages all residents to participate in both the Green Bin and leaf and yard waste programs. 

Residents looking for more information about the re-opening of the CCF or who would like to report a concern about air quality in their neighbourhood can contact the City at [email protected] or at (905) 546 CITY.

Additional Resources

Composting and Green Bin

Yard Waste Program