MONTREAL - The city of Montreal is contemplating setting up a city-wide composting program where organic waste would be composted or turned into methane.
Several boroughs already collect food scraps, garden waste, or have neighbourhood compost bins, but the proposal by the central city would be much larger.
The city is proposing setting up two large-scale composting factories in Dorval and at the Miron Quarry, while a pair of biogas, methane-generating plants would be built in Montreal East and LaSalle.
At the first of four public consultation meetings, city councillor Alan DeSousa said the methane generated would be "something that we could easily put into the Gaz Metro networks and use to generate energy, clean energy."
The city's pointman on the environment says there are no dangers whatsoever with composting plants.
"Our grandmothers did it. Today we call it composting and try to make and pretend it's rocket science but it's not," said DeSousa.
However a group promoting energy self-sufficiency for the province says the technical expertise needed before going ahead with methane-generating plants does not yet exist in Quebec.
Jean-Marc Pelletier of Maitre Chez Nous 21st Century said his goal in speaking at the hearings was "to counteract the publicity or the marketing campaign that will be done to our elected officers by some large corporations."
Public hearings will continue in Dorval, LaSalle, Montreal East and St. Michel until December 8.
