Composting given green light

Shannon LeClair  

Times Reporter    

 

Colin Huxted, owner of H&H Huxted Enterprises, was back before council on June 4 seeking approval to move forward with his composting plan. 

“We talked to Alberta Environment, they are encouraging us to do this,” said Huxted. 

There is a permit he would need to apply for, but until he gained council’s approval he would not be moving forward with that part. 

The idea is for Huxted to enter into a three-year plan, a pilot program for composting, with the Town of Strathmore. 

The facility would be considered a class two, meaning that only vegetative matter, yard materials, garden waste, trees and tree branches chipped would be decomposed through a controlled bio-oxidation process. The finished material would be 100 per cent organic and could be used safely anywhere. 

The site is located on a section of the town’s property south of the recycle yard and is approximately two and a half acres. The goal is to create the class two site, and from there evolve it into a class one site which would allow food products and waste water sludge to be added. 

Huxted said he will hire someone who can monitor the program and answer questions that council may have as things go along. He and Bruce Hempel, Huxted’s operations manager, will also continue to go to courses and keep up to date on composting and learning about new ideas and trends. 

“What I am donating for three years here is my labour, my equipment, my knowledge and Bruce’s knowledge. After the three years if the pilot program works then we will sit down and talk and if you’re happy with it, we’ll continue,” said Huxted. 

“As a council we have a lot of hopes for the composting project in terms of developing potential to hold moisture and stormwater and all of those kinds of things,” said Councillor Denise Peterson. 

Peterson made a motion to approve the proposal in principal, pending licensing and permits. Council approved the motion. Chief Administrative Officer Dwight Stanford also mentioned that it was interesting to him that back in the day a former councillor had been pushing for composting, and how approximately 15 years later it is finally going to happen.