A composting facility that will produce renewable natural gas recently opened its doors south of Okotoks.
Catapult Environmental held a grand opening at its Aldersyde Organics Resource Facility on Sept. 12. The company said the compost and digestion facility will add organics processing capacity to the region south of Calgary.
The company will start off by making compost and will begin producing renewable natural gas at the site by 2026, vice president Gaetan Gobeil said.
“That gas will be captured and then transmitted in a pipeline to heat some homes," he said.
The facility is located off 466 Avenue East near the Cargill plant in Foothills County, and Gobeil said it is suited to an industrial area.
“We're trying to be good neighbours, we're trying to run a facility that we're proud of, that's best in class,” he said.
The company has a similar operation in Manitoba that produces compost, and Gobeil said much of the compost from the first phase of the Aldersyde facility will be used in farming.
“Most of that compost (from the other location) actually goes to organic farmers who are trying to use an alternative source of fertilizer,” he said.
Compost will be made from food processing and brewery waste, manure and other organic materials, Gobeil said.
If municipalities want to have curbside compost programs, it makes sense to bring waste to a facility that’s nearby, and most organics processing capacity in Alberta is in near places like Taber, Lethbridge or Red Deer, he said.
"A lot of the stuff right now is travelling quite far," he said.
Foothills County Reeve Delilah Miller said the business is a welcome addition to the area.
“We’re anxious to work with them,” she said. “(There seems to be a need) to process organics in the area.”
The project was given the go ahead from Foothills County in 2021.
