The City of St. Hyacinthe is taking the lead on renewable bioenergy in the province by becoming the first Quebec town to transform organic waste into energy to power municipal vehicles and heat municipal buildings.
The brown bin contents come from 23 municipalities from around St. Hyacinthe and are brought to the city to be processed into a gas.
That gas is then used to power vehicles and heat buildings, while the leftover waste will be turned into fertilizer.
“We’re talking about a fundamental change in the way we use what otherwise was treated as garbage,” said Environment Minister David Heurtel, who was on hand for the announcement. He added this project is "historic" for Quebec.
About 100,000 tonnes of waste will be processed every year.
The gas that is generated will help St. Hyacinthe cut down on their greenhouse gas emissions by about 15,000 tonnes.
