Durham York Energy Centre Environmental Screening Report available for public review

Whitby, Ontario –The Regional Municipalities of Durham and York have submitted an Environmental Screening Report to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. In response to population growth, the report requests an amendment to the Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) for the Durham York Energy Centre (DYEC) to process an additional 20,000 tonnes of garbage, for an annual total of 160,000 tonnes of garbage. The ECA for the DYEC currently allows the facility to process up to a maximum of 140,000 tonnes per year. The DYEC, as currently constructed, can process the additional 20,000 tonnes of waste that is being requested using the existing equipment.

When and Where: The Environmental Screening Report is available for public review until February 18, 2022 at DurhamYorkWaste.ca. If you are unable to access the digital copy of this report or require an alternate format, please contact 1-800-667-5671.

Why: The additional capacity is needed to accommodate population growth within the two Regions; and will allow the DYEC to operate more efficiently and produce more energy. The screening process involved identifying and applying criteria for potential environmental effects, public and external agency consultation, and the development of measures to mitigate any identified environmental effects. 

Note: The Environmental Screening Process to increase the annual processing capacity began in 2019. The facility already has the capacity to process the additional materials while meeting the strict emissions limits set by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

The DYEC, located at 1835 Energy Drive in Courtice safely processes the residential garbage in Durham and York–that remains after maximizing the use of other diversion programs, such as reducing, reusing, recycling and composting—to generate renewable energy, enough to power about 10,000 homes per year.

To learn more about the DYEC, visit DurhamYorkWaste.ca or email info@durhamyorkwaste.ca.

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