Red Deer County estimates it will save $400,000 a year in trucking costs when the proposed garbage gasification plant is up and running.

County director of operations Frank Peck said on Tuesday that the county expects to save $20 a tonne on the 24,000 tonnes of waste it will transport to the gasification plant each year. The county currently spends about $1.7 million a year providing garbage services.

Council unanimously approved an agreement to send all of the county’s usable waste to the $100-million waste-to-energy facility to be built next to the Horn Hill Waste Transfer site west of Penhold. The agreement is one of the final pieces of paperwork necessary before Plasco can undertake detailed design work and prepare to begin construction next spring on the 200 tonne/day plant.

Red Deer city council approved a similar agreement on Monday and other communities in the Central Waste Management Commission are expected to finalize their agreements before the end of the month, said Peck. The City of Red Deer has committed 10 per cent of its waste.

County councillors, who have been enthusiastic boosters of the gasification project, again expressed their support.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Councillor Jim Wood, adding it will prove the “green way” to handle municipal waste.

“It’s a shame that some municipalities decided not to participate.”

In recent weeks, Lacombe County and the Towns of Eckville and Lacombe announced they were dropping out of the once 15-member commission backing the gasification project, citing concerns over tipping fees, liability issues and the 20-year waste supply commitment. The Village of Alix earlier dropped out.

Despite the departures, the project is still going ahead, although the size of the facility has been scaled back.

Three other communities have expressed interest in joining the commission, said Peck, who is serving as project manager. He declined to name them without their approval, but said he expects to begin discussing their involvement in the near future. The commission had been reluctant to add members earlier because it would have further complicated negotiations then underway with Plasco.

County Councillor Reimar Poth said he understands why some communities opted out, but believes municipal politicians must weigh the long-term benefits of projects like Plasco’s for the entire region.

If waste has the potential to create energy, it should be pursued, he said. “Why do we put it in a landfill? It makes absolutely no sense to me.”

Not all waste is suitable for gasification. Concrete, drywall, asphalt and similar inert products must still be buried in landfills, said Peck.

“There will always be a need for a landfill but it will be a very limited need.”

The county has already worked out an agreement to use the city’s landfill if the gasification plant goes down. It is expected to operate 340 days a year, leaving a few days for maintenance.

Mayor Earl Kinsella was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.

Contact Paul Cowley at pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com