January 28, 1998
To: Works and Utilities Committee
From: M.A. Price
Interim Functional Lead for Solid Waste Management
Subject: Waste Management Facilities Proposed for the Dufferin Transfer Station Site
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to respond to a motion arising from briefings of the Works and Utilities Committee held on January 14, 1998, that requested that the appropriate staff submit a report to the Committee for its next meeting, scheduled to be held on February 11, 1998, on the waste management facilities proposed for the Dufferin Transfer Station site.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
There are no financial or funding implications.
Recommendation:
That this report be received for information.
Council Reference/Background/History:
There are two facilities proposed for the Dufferin Transfer Station site.
1. Material Recycling Facility
At its meeting held on September 24, 1997, Metro Council adopted Clause No. 3 of Report No. 12 of the Environment and Public Space (EPS) Committee headed
ASelection of Expanded Blue Box Material Processing Capacity@ which included the recommendation that Athe Commissioner of Works be given authority to enter into negotiations with Miller Waste Systems and finalize a contract for the design, construction and operation of a Material Recycling Facility at the Dufferin Transfer Station. The terms and conditions of the agreement must be satisfactory to the Commissioner of Works and the Commissioner of Finance, and in a form satisfactory to the Metropolitan Solicitor and otherwise consistent with the Miller Waste Systems= price proposals.@
The selection of Miller Waste Systems as the successful proponent was the result of a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by Metro Works for Blue Box Material processing capacity. The details of the RFP, and the submissions received, are discussed in Clause No. 1 of Report No. 10 of the EPS Committee entitled,
ARequests for Proposals for Blue Box Processing@ which was adopted by Council at its meeting held on July 2 and 3, 1997.
2. Demonstration Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Facility
At its meeting on April 9, 1997, Metro Council adopted, with amendments, Clause No. 1 of Report No. 4 of the EPS Committee headed
ARecommended Diversion Target and Proposed Project under the 3Rs Strategy.@ One of the adopted recommendations was that the Commissioner of Works be authorized to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the design, construction and operation of a 20,000 tonnes per year demonstration processing facility capable of processing both source separated organic waste and mixed municipal waste.
At its meeting on July 2 and 3, 1997, Metro Council adopted Clause No. 11 of Report No. 9 of the EPS Committee entitled
AIssues Related to the Request for Proposals for a Demonstration Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Facility@ (June 5, 1997) which advised that the RFP for the facility was scheduled to be released in August, 1997, with the recommendations going to the new City of Toronto Council early in 1998, and that two locations were being considered for the facility - 101 Commissioners Street in the Portlands and the Dufferin Transfer Station site in North York.
On July 9, 1997, North York Council adopted a recommendation from their Works Committee
Athat the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto be advised that the City of North York is opposed to the construction of a new Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and a mixed waste separation/recycling and processing and composting facility at the Dufferin Transfer Station, and to the implementation of a user pay system for residential waste.@
It should also be noted that with respect to the alternative site at 101 Commissioners Street, the Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO), who owns the site, advised Metro Works that they were reluctant to bring a new waste management use into the Port Area until such time as current concerns about nuisances (such as odours) from existing waste management facilities were resolved. The City of Toronto, however, advocated the 101 Commissioners Street site for the demonstration facility because of its proximity to generators of high levels of organic waste in the central part of the City.
Metro Council, at its meeting held on September 24 and 25, 1997, adopted Clause No. 28(j) of Report No. 12 of the EPS Committee headed
AMixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Demonstration Facility.@ The report provided an update on the development of the RFP document along with the rationale for the selection of the Dufferin Transfer Station site as the preferred location for the demonstration facility.
The Dufferin Transfer Station is located at 35 Vanley Crescent in North York and is one of seven active waste transfer stations owned by the new City of Toronto. It was identified as the preferred site for recycling activities and mixed waste processing during the course of the Solid Waste Environmental Assessment Plan (SWEAP), 1987-1992, by the project consultant, Proctor & Redfern Ltd. This was based on the site
=s excellent transportation connections close to Highways 401 and 400 and previous on-site mixed waste processing and composting activities, in addition to the ongoing transfer function. This location is a licensed, operational waste management site.
Discussion and Justification:
1. Material Recycling Facility
Metro Works Department staff, in conjunction with the Metro Finance Department, and with the assistance of Metro Legal Services, finalized the essential terms and conditions of the Dufferin Blue Box Material Recovery Facility (MRF) contract with Miller Waste Systems in December 1997. Legal Services is presently drafting the formal contract, including compilation of the correspondence to date evidencing the agreed upon terms. It is anticipated that both parties will sign the contract before the end of January, 1998.
The removal of surplus equipment and structures from the former Resource Recovery Building (500 Building), which was necessary to allow for the construction of the new MRF, is substantially complete. Miller Waste Systems has indicated that they are prepared to mobilize their forces and begin detailed design of the new MRF as soon as the contract is signed.
2. Demonstration Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Facility
In September of 1997, Metro Toronto issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Mixed Waste Recycling and Organic Processing Demonstration Facility. The demonstration facility is a key element of the strategy to achieve 50 percent waste diversion by 2006, because it will be used to determine the role that mixed waste processing and source separated organics processing facilities will play in achieving the diversion target. The utilization of one or both approaches is essential to achieving this 50 percent target.
The facility is being designed to accept both a mixed waste stream and a source separated organics stream. The design will be flexible to allow the facility to be converted to a dedicated mixed waste processing plant or a dedicated organics composting plant after the demonstration phase.
This strategy was developed to manage financial risks by allowing the City to test both processing approaches prior to committing to develop full scale processing capability, and by building a facility that has the flexibility to be modified to perform a range of diversion functions in the future.
The RFP closed on January 8, 1998, and a total of seven submissions were received. An evaluation committee consisting of staff from the Works, Finance, and Legal Departments, as well as MacViro Consultant Inc. (the consultants who prepared the RFP document) is currently reviewing the seven submissions and is expected to report back to committee in March with recommendations.
Conclusions:
The Dufferin Transfer Station is the future site of two new waste management facilities: the Blue Box Material Recovery Facility awarded to Miller Waste Systems, and the proposed Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Demonstration Facility for which staff are reviewing proposal submissions and expect to recommend a contract award to committee in March 1998.
Contact Name:
Andrew Pollock
Senior Manager - Waste Diversion and Planning
Metro Hall
Phone: (416) 392-4715
Fax: (416) 392-4754
E-mail: Andy_Pollock@metrodesk.metrotor.on.ca
Michael A. Price
Interim Functional Lead for Solid Waste Management
B. H. Gutteridge
Acting Executive Commissioner
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