STRATFORD, ONT. -- Robin Roberts says it’s the right idea, but wrong location.
The Stratford, Ont. grandmother lives very close to a proposed “natural gas” plant that could be built at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
Currently, the city is producing methane using a pair of anaerobic digesters at the plant.
Their plan is to invest more than $20 million to build a facility to turn that methane into natural gas, enough to power over 9,000 homes.
They’d truck in “organic waste” like household and commercial food waste from across Southwestern Ontario to power the facility.
The proposed plant will mean as many as 16 extra trucks heading to the facility every day.
And that’s too many, says Roberts, “This is a residential area with a lot of seniors. That many trucks coming and going could be dangerous.”
Ed Dujlovic is Stratford’s director of Infrastructure and Development Services. He concedes there will be more truck traffic, but says this proposed plant could be a money-maker for the city.
“If our targets are met, the payback for this project is about seven years.”
He says provincial rules requiring some sort of organic waste diversion or “green bin” program for all Ontario municipalities by 2025 will create a supply of organic waste to run Stratford’s “natural gas” plant.
The issue is expected to come back before Stratford city council on Jan. 13.
