11 | durhamregion.com | This Week | Thursday, August 25, 2022 | Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover Thank You for Doing Your Part! Katherine Ross, Waste Management Technician for the Region of Durham talks everything Waste. Send your waste related questions or comments to waste@durham.ca If you require this information in an accessible format, please call 1-800-667-5671 • durham.ca/waste Clearing the Air Many substances in the environment can produce odours. You typically smell these odours when you are outdoors, or sometimes when you are indoors with your windows open. Odours can come from many sources such as animals, industry, vehicles and nature. Co-owned by the Region of Durham and Region of York, the Durham York Energy Centre (DYEC) in Courtice is a waste management facility that produces energy from the combustion of post-diversion residential garbage. The DYEC provides a safe and environmentally sustainable method of waste disposal through thermal treatment and generates electrical power through a steam-turbine generator. The potential for odours generated from this facility is very low and closely monitored. Since commercial operation in 2016, there have been ZERO odour complaints attributed to the DYEC. Daily odour inspections are completed to ensure there are no offsite impacts from DYEC operations. All trucks delivering garbage to the DYEC are covered. The DYEC was designed to prevent the release of odours into the community. The tipping hall, where garbage is received and unloaded, is located indoors. The air in the tipping hall is drawn in through large fans and used in the combustion process. This ensures the tipping hall remains under negative air pressure to contain any dust and odours generated during the delivery of garbage. Additionally, any odour-causing compounds are destroyed through the combustion process prior to reaching the stack. Any odour concerns received by the DYEC are reported to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) as required by the DYEC's Environmental Compliance Approval. Once a concern has been reported, an investigation of the available data, including wind direction from meteorological data, facility operations and a review of odour inspections, is completed to determine conditions at the time of the reported concern. Since the DYEC began operating in 2016, all the odour investigations completed, have concluded that the DYEC was not the cause of the reported odour events. We care about our communities and take the operations of our facilities seriously. If there is a specific day and time when you smell an odour in the air, please notify us at 905-404-0888 ext. 4130 or info@durhamyorkwaste.ca so we can investigate your concern.