City of Surrey Mayor, Linda Hepner, said, “The facility will be instrumental in reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 49,000 tonnes per year, which is the equivalent of taking over 10,000 cars off the road annually. This reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will also completely eliminate the City of Surrey’s corporate carbon footprint of 17,000 tonnes per year.”
The facility is the largest of its kind in North America with the capacity to process 100 percent of the city’s organic waste over the 25-year contract term. It will contribute to Metro Vancouver achieving its regional 70 percent waste diversion target and is anticipated to help reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions.
The facility can process up to 115,000 tonnes of organic waste every year. It will convert the city’s kitchen and garden waste, along with commercial waste from across the region, into renewable biomethane gas. The biomethane gas will be used to fuel a fleet of natural gas powered waste collection trucks. The facility will also produce a compost product suitable for landscaping and agricultural applications.
The facility is underpinned by a public-private partnership contract with the Government of Canada. It has also been awarded the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure Envision Platinum award. The Envision rating system rates sustainable infrastructure across the full range of environmental, social and economic impacts. The Surrey facility is the first waste sector infrastructure project in North America to earn the prestigious Envision award for sustainability.
