The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) has completed construction of the Central Compost Facility at 550 Emerald Road, roughly nine kilometres southeast of Salmo, BC.
The facility started operating on Aug. 21 and a ribbon cutting ceremony was held on September 8th to celebrate.
Organic material from Nelson, Castlegar and the Greater Trail Area will be processed at the Central Compost Facility, turning it into compost. This is the second facility of its kind in the Kootenays: the first opened in Creston, BC in June 2022.
At the ribbon cutting event, several speeches were made by members of the RDCK and MLA for Nelson/Creston Brittny Anderson spoke as well. The speakers discussed the environmental impact this project will have by increasing the lifespans of local landfills and reducing greenhouse as emissions.
Stuart Horn, the CAO of the RDCK, also thanked the provincial and federal governments and the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT). The governments contributed over $1.5 million dollars in funding (two thirds of the capital cost) though the Organic Infrastructure Program. Funds from CBT were obtained through the Climate Resilience Program.
CJLY attended the event and then spoke with Matt Morrison, organics coordinator for the RDCK.
