MONTREAL - It's a question of location, location, location.
A report on a city-wide composting system was released Wednesday and in it, it said Montrealers are in favour of the organic waste management system. The problem? Where to store the compost.
The goal is to set up four composting stations spread throughout the city.
The northern option is the Miron quarry, but residents of Saint-Michel say they don't want it to become a dumping ground again.
"People in Saint-Michel were affected by odours. We had a number of birds and a number of rats also," explained Denis Sirois of community group Economic Development – Centre Nord.
Community activists like Sirois say they are firmly against the Montreal public consultation office's recommendation to use the site to store compost from the northern part of the city.
Activists say it's a bad idea to store compost next to an area being developed into a large urban park.
The city insists, however, that there's a need for sites that are equally distributed across the island.
"It would reduce traffic on the roads, reduce greenhouse gases and reduce costs to the local communities," said executive committee member Alan DeSousa. "If you've got to truck your stuff all across the island, let me tell you, not only will you be tied up in traffic but it's also going to cost you much more."
The southern option is on a private lot in Lasalle, on Saint-Patrick St. near Angrignon Blvd.
To the east, the city has chosen the former Demix quarry for a recommended biofuel plant.
Another issue plaguing progress, however, is where to set up in the west after a setback at Trudeau Airport.
"The Aeroport de Dorval, which was the owner of site for Dorval just made the decision not to approve the implementation of the facility," said Luc Doray of the Montreal public consultation office.
The airport said it worries the project will attract birds and cause bird strikes, despite a city study to the contrary.
Montreal is therefore being advised to wait to start development everywhere until a site in the west is identified.
Opposition party Vision Montreal said the administrative delays could be expensive.
"The more time is up, the more difficult it will be to find a site in the west because there will be more opposition," said Riviere-des-Prairies city councillor Caroline Bourgeois.
DeSousa said the time has come to make a decision.
"We haven't sat by and twiddled our thumbs waiting for the report. We do have sites," said DeSousa. "None of them is perfect and now with the contents of this report we will have to make a decision."
