So far this year, the biomethanization plant has injected 3 million cubic meters (m³) of natural gas into the Énergir network. For Quebec City, this represents $1.6M in revenue.
“Our factory is working really well. We inject high-quality gas, we generate revenue with that, we reduce our royalties, citizens do the right thing and we count on the entire population to continue. We really have a jewel in our hands,” summarized the vice-president of the executive committee responsible for residual materials management, Marie-Josée Asselin, Wednesday at a press conference at the biomethanization plant located on Chemin de la Baie. -de-Beauport.
By combining the royalties of $34 per tonne, as required by the provincial government to eliminate residual materials, as well as the natural gas sold to Énergir, the municipal administration expects to make total savings of $2.3M in 2024.
“We would have paid $700,000 to get rid of it,” explained Ms. Asselin.
Since January 18, the biomethanization plant has treated 60,000 tons of sludge. This municipal facility also receives purple bags from more than 75% of the population, not counting the 1,250 industries, businesses and institutions that have participated in the collection of food waste since April. 20,000 tonnes of digestate were also recovered, thanks to the biomethanization plant. Some 50 farms in the province spread this black soil used as fertilizer on their agricultural land.
“These are materials that we eliminated that we now revalue,” underlined Ms. Asselin.
New performance indicator
Furthermore, the City of Quebec today put online a tool allowing citizens to monitor the level of natural gas injection into the Énergir network.
“We are really here in the transparency of our data,” mentioned Ms. Asselin.
However, the City is still not able to say precisely the quantity of purple bags diverted from the incinerator.
“We are working on it,” said the Deputy Director General for Sustainable Infrastructure, Carl Desharnais.
A contractor is currently preparing engineering plans to install a new scale, early next year, to weigh the table waste which first arrives at the incinerator on Montmorency Boulevard.
As for the smells of rotten turnips smelled in lower town of Quebec coming from the biomethanization plant, it seems that the City has taken the necessary corrective measures. The situation is now under control, we were told this afternoon.
“Normally, the equipment to treat odors works well, some even better than expected. On the other hand, the elements that we investigated were that in certain problems, we had to divert equipment and during these periods, we had a generation of odors. We were able to correlate certain complaints with these moments,” explained the deputy director for sustainable infrastructure.
In other words, “it shouldn’t stink anymore,” at least in principle.
“But you know, it’s mechanical equipment, so we’re not safe from a problem. Zero risk does not exist,” admitted Mr. Desharnais.
New municipal bylaw
Furthermore, the City of Quebec adopted a regulation during the summer, which stipulates that food waste must go in purple bags. But for the Marchand administration, there is no question for the moment of playing “trash police”.
“There is no fine provided for in the regulations. We really want to educate and raise awareness,” said the vice-president of the executive committee responsible for residual materials management, Marie-Josée Asselin, who recalls that it always takes time to start new habits. and anchor a behavior in their daily life.
For the City, it was especially necessary to update its regulations in line with this new way of managing residual materials. This was added by the director of the residual materials management division, Mathieu Fournier.
Recycling purple bags
Finally, the City is continuing its efforts to recycle the plastic in purple bags which is recyclable, but which is not biodegradable. To date, street furniture slats have been produced from the shreds of purple bags. Tests have demonstrated that it is possible to clean and condition these shreds to a sufficient level of quality to be able to reintegrate them into recycling processes.
A professional mandate is underway to assess the technical and financial feasibility of installing a complete packaging line on a larger scale.
Photo credit: Thomas Verret
The construction of the biomethanization plant required public investments of $210M, including $150M from the City of Quebec. Its inauguration took place in March 2024. The distribution of the purple bags began in November 2022.
For more information on collecting food waste: www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/sacmauve.
