Composting conflict: How region plans to roll out complex, costly organic waste program by Ont. deadline

There appears to be an organic waste stalemate in Windsor-Essex, with many communities agreeing to a regional approach to the planned program, while two smaller municipalities say the cost is deterring them from opting in.

Ontario is requiring Windsor to divert 70 per cent of its organic waste from the landfill by 2025, while the target for Leamington, Tecumseh, Amherstburg and LaSalle is 50 per cent by the same time. Essex, Kingsville and Lakeshore are exempt from the provincial program due to their size.

But Essex County Warden and Tecumseh Mayor, Gary McNamara, said everyone needs to be all-in for this organic waste plan to really work.

"What's really important here is that you can't piecemeal participation ... because we all share one landfill. And you can't just say, I'm going to divert certain municipalities from participating in it and others can still put their organics into into the landfill," said McNamara. "We can't be looking like we're really serious about climate change and about preserving the landfill if we're actually not going to do it."

McNamara references an Essex County Council vote last month where the majority agreed to a regional organic waste program, setting into motion what he believes is a plan that includes all municipalities.

Still, both Essex Mayor Richard Meloche and Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos tell CBC News they don't plan on participating in the regional strategy, at least not right away.

"It is also expected that the province will ban all organics from landfills in the future," according to an Essex County Council report in March.

Starting an organic waste program from scratch likely won't come cheap. McNamara said he saw early estimates of up to $300 million and an additional $6 to $8 million annually to operate.

The cost all depends on which approach the region selects.

An anaerobic digestion system — which is the most expensive option — takes the organic waste and turns it into a renewable gas. A cheaper option would be to simply turn residents' kitchen scraps into compost.

Politicians are also considering whether taxpayers need to shoulder the cost of building a facility to process organic waste or if the private sector is a better option.

Seacliff Energy Corp has operated in Leamington for the last 11 years. The Toronto-based company takes organic waste and turns it into electricity, thermal energy and renewable natural gas.

"Private industry, we can process most efficiently and much cheaper than a municipality can," said Jason Moretto, president and CEO of Envest Corp, which owns Seacliff Energy. "It also removes the risk of these very complex processing and recycling systems from the taxpayer.

Some municipalities seem to have a desire to own their own assets," said Moretto.