Composting costs leave some questioning provincial goals

"We don't have anywhere to take it," said Beaconsfield city councillor Kate Coulter, who also chairs the city's environment committee.

Not only is putting up a composting centre very expensive, but there is a matter of deciding where to install it. "Who wants it in their backyard?" Coulter asked.

Composting is the act of recuperating and separating bio-degradable and organic materials from household garbage and returning it to the soil as compost. There are two main composting sources for residences: yard waste and table waste. The only current major composting centre serving Montreal Island is located in St. Michel, but it does not handle table waste.

According to a recent study by the Montreal Metropolitan Community, the city places 25th out of 27 major Canadian cities when it comes to composting, and much of the West Island is not faring better.

"We're all in the same position," estimated Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau. "There are a lot of different options we are looking at," he said, adding he will observe what other municipalities are doing before adopting a plan.

By 2008, municipalities in Quebec should compost 60 per cent of all organic materials according to provincial standards, but that target is questioned by some.

"I don't know if it's realistic," Rouleau said.

He estimated that about 10 per cent of 4,000 households in Dorval actively engage in composting, but no one living in apartments does. Dorval has sold composters to citizens at a discount price in the past, and will continue to do so this year, Rouleau said. Coulter said Beaconsfield also sells discounted composters to its citizens.

However, Kirkland seemed slightly more optimistic about the 2008 target. "We are working towards that goal," said town councillor Brian Swinburne, although he acknowledged some difficulties, such as figuring out the cost of composting table waste. Kirkland currently has a leaf-mulching program, thanks to which Swinburne estimated the municipality should reach a goal of 32 per cent of all organic materials by the end of 2007.

In Pointe Claire, meanwhile, council is busy studying the results of a just-finished pilot project, which saw 200 Pointe Claire households given 240-litre composting bins. The households in question would dump all organic refuse into the bins, and have them collected by the city.

Both Beaconsfield and Kirkland officials estimated that co-operation with Montreal is important for everyone to move forward together.

"I call frequently on the environment department of Montreal," Coulter said, adding she uses their excellent resources and documentation on composting and recycling. "Montreal and all the de-merged cities are working together on this 60 per cent goal," Swinburne said.