Update: Closure of Hamilton’s Central Composting Facility

HAMILTON, ON – Earlier this week, the City of Hamilton began the process of shutting down its Central Composting Facility in response to odour concerns in the neighbourhood. As of Monday, June 25, no new organic material has been accepted at the facility.

As of today, all of the compost stored in the curing building at the facility (the part of the process that the City believes is contributing to the odours) has been moved off site. As part of the controlled shutdown, activity within the main building will continue for the next couple weeks while the compost process fully winds down.

Over the long weekend, there will be no truck traffic at the Central Composting Facility as staff continue their investigation to identify the root cause(s) of the odour issues. Once the main facility is empty, operations at the facility will not resume until the cause(s) have been successfully identified and addressed.

Leading up to the long weekend and hot weather that is expected over the coming days, the City has added a number of new odour neutralizers at on the site that should help with addressing odours in the short term.

Residents looking for more information about the closure of the Central Composting Facility or who would like to report a concern about odours in their neighbourhood can contact the City at [email protected] or at 905-546-2489.

The City is encouraging all residents in Hamilton to continue participating in the composting, recycling and yard waste programs offered in Hamilton. As a result of the CCF closure, there are some minor changes to the programs, as follows:

1. Food scraps and soiled paper products should still go in the green bin. At this time, some food scraps are being temporarily redirected to the landfill, but for operational reasons, residents are encouraged to continue using their green bins.
2. All yard waste should go in a paper yard waste bag or other clearly marked open-top reusable rigid container (i.e. bins, baskets or garbage can without a lid).  All yard waste will continue to be composted at a different site to produce high quality compost.
3. There are no changes to the blue box program.
4. There are no changes to waste collection – each single family household can still put out one bag or can of garbage each week for pick up. Additional bags still require a trash tag.
5. The City encourages residents to leave their grass clippings on their lawns to reduce the amount of grass being picked up at the curb, and provide food and nutrients to worms and grass. Residents who don’t wish to leave their grass clippings on their lawns can place grass with their leaf and yard waste.

The City thanks residents for their patience as we address the odour concerns in the neighbourhoods around the Central Composting Facility.

Additional Resources:

• Yard Waste Program
• Waste & Recycling Programs