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City of Toronto Council and Committees |
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All Council and Committee documents are available from the City of Toronto Clerk's office. Please e-mail clerk@city.toronto.on.ca.
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March 11, 1998
To: Works and Utilities Committee
From: M.A. Price
Interim Functional Lead - Solid Waste Management
Subject: Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Demonstration Facility - Status Report
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to provide a rationale for proceeding with the evaluation of the proposals for the mixed waste recycling and organics processing demonstration facility and to seek approval to open the price proposals for the short-listed Respondents to the Request for Proposals.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
There are no immediate financial implications of these recommendations. Staff propose to report back after evaluation of the proposals with capital and operating budget implications of the proposed facility. Based on preliminary estimates, the combined amortized capital and operating cost of the demonstration facility is projected to be in the $75.00 - $85.00 per tonne range. The projected $8 million capital cost has been provided for in the proposed 1998-2002 Capital Works Program under Project C-SW004-Recycling Facilities. Since the facility would be operational in late 1999, there are no operating budget implications for 1998.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that staff be authorized to open the Price Proposals and complete the evaluation process for the short-listed respondents to the Request for Proposals for a Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Demonstration Facility, and report back to Committee with recommendations.
Council Reference/Background/History:
At its meeting on April 9, 1997, the former Metropolitan Council adopted, with amendments, Clause No. 1 of Report No. 4 of the Environment and Public Space Committee, which recommended, in part, that:
- authority be granted to the Commissioner of Works for an expenditure of $100,000.00 after municipal GST rebate, within funding limits previously approved, to engage a qualified engineering consultant to prepare the Request for Proposals for the design, construction and operation of a 20,000 tonne per year composting and mixed waste processing demonstration facility, and to evaluate responses; and
- subject to approval of the above recommendation, the Commissioner of Works be authorized to issue a Request for Proposals for the design, construction and operation of a 20,000 tonne per year composting and mixed waste processing facility capable of processing both source-separated organic waste and mixed waste.
Subsequently, at its meeting on July 2 and 3, 1997, Metropolitan Council adopted, with amendments, Clause No. 1 of Report No. 9 of the Environment and Public Space Committee which recommended "that Metro Toronto commit to a waste diversion target of at least 50 percent of residential waste by the year 2006."
Staff had recommended the target of 50 percent waste diversion by 2006 based on the analysis of waste diversion options presented in the APreliminary Metro 3Rs Strategy - Draft Report@ by Resource Integration Systems Ltd. (RIS), dated November 28, 1996. Staff also advised that the 50 percent diversion target could be achieved through an expanded Blue/Grey Box recycling system, together with some combination of organics composting and/or mixed waste processing.
In September 1997, staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the design construction and operation of a 20,000 tonne per year Mixed Waste Recycling and Organic Processing Demonstration Facility at the Dufferin Transfer Station located in the former City of North York.
The RFP closed on January 8, 1998, and a total of seven proposals were received. An RFP Evaluation Committee consisting of staff from the Works, Finance, and Legal Departments, as well as MacViro Consultants Inc. (the consultants who prepared the RFP document) is conducting an evaluation of the Technical Proposals to develop a short list. The proposal call is a two envelope process in which the price information is opened only if a respondent =s proposal is short-listed. Direction from Council is now requested prior to opening the Price Proposals.
Discussion and Justification:
The Mixed Waste Recycling and Organic Processing 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 (15,000 tonnes per year) and a source separated organics stream (5,000 tonnes per year). 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 specific objectives for constructing the Demonstration Facility are as follows:
- to demonstrate the successful operation of a mixed waste recycling and organic processing facility within City of Toronto boundaries, the operation of which is considered an essential component in achieving a overall waste diversion rate of 50 percent or higher in the City.
- to provide a facility at which various 3Rs systems approaches can be tested, including:
a) processing of mixed waste from apartment buildings and municipally collected commercial locations;
b)processing source-separated organics from single family households and municipally collected commercial locations; and
c)processing the wet (organic) fraction of a residential wet/dry system.
- to construct a modular facility which, after the demonstration phase, can be expanded into a full scale mixed waste recycling and organics processing facility, or a source-separated organics processing facility.
Each of these approaches listed in point (2) above would provide useful input into the selection of a preferred 3Rs strategy, while the facility itself could be adapted to play a major role in any future 3Rs systems. For instance, if separate organic waste collection and processing is demonstrated to be technically and economically viable, it could lead to a decision to implement a three-stream system for all single family residences, and the facility could be expanded to accommodate up to 50,000 tonnes per year of organic waste. Alternatively, if mixed waste processing is proven viable, the facility could be expanded to process up to 100,000 tonnes per year of mixed waste from apartment buildings. Even if a decision is made that no organics composting or mixed waste processing of residential waste was required, the facility could process organics-rich mixed waste from commercial areas serviced by municipal collection trucks.
We have received seven proposals in response to the RFP for a Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Demonstration Facility from the following respondents:
- AGRA Monenco Inc., in association with Wright Environmental and Machinex Inc. (AGRA).
- B.W.S. Composting, a joint venture of M. Sullivan and Son and Bennett and Wright Group Inc.
- Groupe Conporec Inc. and Kamyr Enterprises Inc.
- Miller Waste Systems.
- Organic Waste Conversion.
- Recycling and Composting Alliance, a joint venture of Stinnes Enerco, The State Group, and RRT Design and Construction (Alliance).
- Stone and Webster Canada Ltd., in association with Canada Composting Inc.
The proposal screening and evaluation process being undertaken by the RFP Evaluation Committee involves the following four steps, as described on pages 26-30 of the RFP document:
Step 1) Initial screening of the technical proposals to ensure compliance with the minimum requirements set out in the RFP.
Step 2) Detailed technical evaluation of the remaining submissions.
Step 3) Requests for supplemental technical information and cost information from selected respondents to obtain comparable information required for decision making. At the completion of this step, proposals undergoing further consideration will form the short list.
Step 4) Opening of Price Proposals from the short-listed respondents and determination of the proposal that provides the best overall value to the City of Toronto.
As a result of the Step 1 screening, the following respondents are still under consideration:
1) AGRA
2) Miller Waste Systems
3)Alliance
4)Stone and Webster
Each of the facilities proposed by the above respondents involves front-end processing to remove recyclables from the mixed waste stream and then processing of the organic fraction to produce compost material. Three of the proposals involve aerobic composting technology, while the fourth (Stone and Webster) involves anaerobic digestion technology producing both compost and biogas for energy production. The proposed facilities all guarantee a minimum of 60 percent diversion from the mixed waste input stream and 90 percent diversion from the source-separated organics input stream. With respect to compost material produced from the mixed waste stream, the selected respondent does have the option of paying the City of Toronto $50.00 per tonne to manage the material on their behalf, if they are unable to secure markets.
The selected respondent will be responsible for designing, constructing and then operating the facility for a one to three year period, and will be fully responsible for marketing all output material. The City of Toronto will own the facility which will be located at our Dufferin Transfer Station property at 35 Vanley Crescent in North York.
Based on preliminary estimates, the demonstration facility is projected to cost approximately $8 million to design and construct, and have a net operating cost of $30.00 - $40.00 per tonne, for a combined amortized capital and operating cost of $75.00 - $85.00 per tonne. Although the projected cost for this facility is higher than anticipated future waste transfer and long haul disposal costs, there are strategic benefits to testing the technology on a small scale before making major capital investments. The design will be modular to allow for future facility expansion to achieve greater economies of scale, once the facility is proven to be viable. Based on preliminary estimates, a full scale mixed waste recycling facility is projected to cost $60.00 to $70.00 per tonne to build and operate.
Prior to opening the Price Proposals and completing Step 4 of the evaluation process, we are requesting direction from the Works and Utilities Committee and Council on how to proceed.
Assuming that a decision is made to proceed with the proposed Demonstration Facility, the following planning steps need to be taken in future years:
1) Test 3Rs systems involving source separated organics composting and mixed waste processing, utilizing the proposed Demonstration Facility (1999-2000).
2) Based on test results, decide on the future role of mixed waste processing and source separated organics composting (2001).
3) Proceed with implementation of the required processing capacity and collection system modifications, in accordance with the decisions made above (2001-2006).
A decision not to proceed with the demonstration facility would have the following ramifications:
(1) Achieving 50 percent waste diversion by 2006 would not be possible under the planning approach to 3Rs facility development as previously adopted by the former Metro Council. City of Toronto Council would need to adopt a new planning approach to identifying a preferred 3Rs strategy with new timelines for 3Rs facility development and diversion targets.
(2) The residual waste volumes required for disposal would have to be reviewed given that Toronto =s Environmental Assessment (EA) Draft Terms of Reference for Long Term Waste Disposal (the TOR) is based on four planning principles, one of which is that the 3Rs Strategy will identify residual waste quantities requiring disposal. The submission of the EA based on the Terms of Reference would have to await the adoption of a revised planning approach to identifying a preferred 3Rs strategy.
Conclusions:
Based on the important role that the proposed Demonstration Facility has in terms of both 3Rs system planning and long term disposal planning, it is recommended that we be authorized to complete the proposal evaluation process and report back to Committee with recommendations.
Contact Name:
Andrew Pollock
Sr. Manager - Waste Diversion & Planning
Solid Waste Management Division
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
Barry H. Gutteridge
Commissioner
Works & Emergency Services
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Please note that council and committee documents are provided electronically for information only and do not retain the exact structure of the original versions. For example, charts, images and tables may be difficult to read. As such, readers should verify information before acting on it. All council documents are available from the City Clerk's office. Please e-mail clerk@city.toronto.on.ca. |
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