Veolia to operate second Toronto AD facility

Boston-based Veolia North America says it has been awarded a contract to assume operations and maintenance duties at the city of Toronto’s Dufferin anaerobic digestion (AD) organics processing facility.

Veolia says its Veolia Canada business unit also has operated and maintained Toronto’s other AD facility on Disco Road since 2014. The company describes the facilities as using “pre-processing and AD technology to break down organic material such as residential source-separated food waste.

The output from the two plants includes digester solids that Veolia says “are used to create high-quality compost and biogas.”

According to Veolia, the city of Toronto “then turns the compost and biogas into renewable natural gas (RNG) to help fuel its fleet and heat its buildings, thereby reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 22,000 metric tons per year.”

The environmental services firm says the Disco Road facility has the capacity to take in up to 75,000 metric tons of organic waste per year while the Dufferin plant has been designed with 55,000 metric tons of annual capacity.

“Veolia Canada is proud to continue collaborating with the city of Toronto on a shared vision for addressing the environmental challenge of managing organic waste safely and sustainably,” says Veolia Canada CEO and Country Director Denis Chesseron.

Adds the executive, “Our resources and expertise in managing AD operations are driven by Veolia’s GreenUp strategy for growth and sustainability, ensuring a cleaner world for future generations.”

In addition to the city of Toronto's AD facilities, Veolia Canada operates an AD plant for the city of Edmonton, Alberta, and what it calls in-vessel composting operation for the city of Montreal. Veolia says it also is in the process of commissioning a new AD facility for the city of Montreal.

The Veolia North America subsidiary of the France-based Veolia group provides water services and hazardous waste and pollution treatment services. The environmental services firm says it has more than 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations in North America.